Election season begins in Mason County

Welcome to the circus.

This week marks the beginning of the 2022 general election season here at the Shelton-Mason County Journal.

Starting with this week’s edition of the paper, the Journal will begin running a series of question-and-answer pages with the candidates in the Nov. 8 election.

This week, we look at the races for Mason County assessor, Mason County sheriff and the 6th Congressional District.

You can see the planned schedule in the breakout box.

Both candidates in each race are asked the same five questions, followed by the candidates asking a question of their opponent. The responses are printed exactly as submitted without any correction.

We have planned our scheduled pages to run over the next four weeks, with the final responses set to run Oct. 20. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed to Mason County voters Oct. 18.

Also beginning this week, we have reopened our Letters to the Editor to letters about candidates, including those for and against. Several letters included in this edition were submitted earlier in the month and are now being published.

We will run candidate-related letters until the Oct. 27 edition. No original letters regarding candidates will be published on Nov. 3 due to Election Day being the following Tuesday, however letters directly rebutting a previous letter will be considered.

For those considering writing a Letter to the Editor in the upcoming weeks, here are a few things to know:

What we will publish

Letters that support, oppose or ask questions of the candidates. Don’t feel afraid to ask tough questions and demand answers. Anyone running for political office should be willing to truthfully answer questions from their constituents. Ask about their platform, their plans if elected and why they’re running. Letters will be edited for grammar and style. We also reserve the right to edit or reject letters containing profanities or excessive graphicness.

What we won’t publish

Letters that allege candidates of illegal conduct or law-breaking. If you believe a candidate has broken the law, report it to the appropriate authorities or jurisdiction. The Journal is not a courtroom nor a place for public litigation. If you would like to submit materials for the Journal to review, feel free to do so, but publishing unsubstantiated and unfounded claims of illegalities places the writer of the letter and the newspaper at risk of legal action.

Elections offer us an opportunity to have our voices heard about our futures and the future of our cities, county, state and nation. It’s one of the most sacred rights we have as citizens.