No endorsements, no nonsense
The political season is upon us and elsewhere in this issue you'll find a summary of events from the July 16 Republican candidate public forum.
Those who attended got to see firsthand how candidates can answer questions off-the-cuff and how they conduct themselves in front of an audience.
We have our opinions on the outcome of the forum but will keep them to ourselves.
Longtime readers of the Marion County Record may remember when editor and publisher Bill Meyer fearlessly endorsed candidates.
Those days are long gone and the newspaper now has a "no endorsement" policy. That doesn't come from lack of opinion, fear, or ignorance.
It comes from a dedicated effort to provide fair and balanced reporting of the issues and candidates.
It's not our job to tell readers who to vote for. It's our job to provide the information so voters can make informed decisions themselves.
A few years ago when production manager Melvin Honeyfield ran for a city council position, he was treated like all other candidates. He had the same deadlines for questionnaires and was not privy to any of the preliminary planning of election coverage. He didn't get an "edge" because he worked here.
And later when sports writer David Colburn ran for mayor he found out the hard way that the newspaper didn't play favorites with employees. He missed the deadline for turning in a questionnaire and therefore wasn't included in the candidate story.
That wasn't done maliciously. It was done in the interest of fairness to all candidates. We don't play favorites.
That's also why you won't see candidate signs planted in our front yards. If we won't endorse a candidate in the pages of the newspaper, we won't endorse a candidate with signs in our front yards.
Some may not agree with this policy. Some may think the newspaper needs to "take a stand" on which candidate can do the job. You're entitled to that opinion. But for right now, the newspaper will continue doing what we do — fair, balanced, accurate coverage. No nonsense.
— DONNA BERNHARDT
