Dear editor,

We vote early.  This is a result of my wife and I working as election judges, and as luck would have it, we weren’t assigned to be working in our home precinct.  Rather than insult those who have fought and even died to make sure Americans have a right to vote by not voting, we went and voted early at the Ogle County Courthouse.

As part of the process, we had to do some candidate research so we could be informed voters.  This meant looking up information on the candidates in the elections that we can vote on and picking those who were aligned best with where we think the various offices should be heading.

We were both surprised at the lack of candidates for some offices.  In Ogle County, we found that there were 47 offices with nobody filed to run for them.  Think about that for a second – 47 offices where people didn’t think of passing petitions to get on the ballot.  Fortunately, people have stepped up in a few races and have done what is necessary to run as write-in candidates, but that is the exception, not the rule.  There are a lot of offices with “NO CANDIDATE” in the blank.

In such cases, the government agency can then appoint who they want to fill these roles.  That isn’t what our founding fathers expected, but it is how it works.

This brings me to the subject of this missive – we need people like you to run for public office.  Yes, being on a city council, village council, township board, library board, etc., will take up some of your time and energy.  However, I would ask that you look at yourself in the mirror – if you have even some time to help, wouldn’t it be better if YOU ran for one of these open offices?

Think of what you could bring to the discussion.  Most of the people in these offices are people that are literally just like you.  They put their clothes on the same way, they shop at the same stores, they have the same education as you.  You don’t have to be a doctor or a lawyer – you just have to be a citizen that is interested in becoming involved and willing to run, and if elected, attend the meetings and think about the subjects so you vote to reflect what your constituents would want.

Running for office starts with passing petitions.  Our County Clerk, Laura Cook posts notices in the newspapers on when petitions can be passed and when they have to be turned in to qualify.  Follow the rules, walk and talk to your neighbors, and get them to sign your petitions.  The numbers you need to be approved and placed on the ballot are available from the clerk’s office.  If the race is uncontested, you can walk some more to make sure people vote for you.  If the race is contested, you can walk a lot more to make sure enough people vote for you so that you can win.

It will take some effort, but isn’t it true of anything that is worth doing?  Please, consider getting involved with your local government, school, or township, and run for public office.  We the People, need good People like you to step up and become part of the process that keeps our government running smoothly.

There are some who might say “No, I’m too busy,” or “I don’t know anything about running a library/village/city.”  To be honest, the same can be said for most of the people who ran for office the first time.  Consider stepping up to help – because after all, if not you, then who will run?  And if not now, then when?

-George Wilhelmsen, Rochelle