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Sunday Night
MaryHelen Swanson, editor

So you want to run for office? Great. Your hometown newspaper can be helpful, but we must be careful to be fair to all candidates.
ECM Publishers has some guidelines for its editors, which can be termed ìrulesî but that could end up turning this whole campaign process into a game. This is not a game.
We do have some policies that will be spelled out here that are meant to make the campaign season as fair to all candidates as possible.
Many of you already know that we allow an initial article or letter to the editor in which a candidate declares his or her intent to run for an office.
We also allow for space for news of endorsement by official party process, but not by every special interest group.
Now that the legislative session is over, we wonít be running columns from incumbent legislators.
Letters to the editor are encouraged, however, they should be brief and to the point. Letters which have been drafted by form at a campaign meeting and passed around for signatures will be recognized and most likely not be published. In the last election, while checking on the validity of some letter writers, some people were surprised to learn that their names had been placed at the bottom of a letter. It is a dead give away when the typing is identical, or if they all come from the same FAX number.
Informed letters to the editor representing a candidateís view and the letter writerís endorsement are the best way to get your candidateís message across. Letters that viciously attack do no one justice. As my former editor put it, ìAttack letters that involve our having to check facts, are going to the bottom of the pile. Weíll do the checking, because itís a misdemeanor to knowingly cause incorrect information to be printed, but time constraints are a reality.î
As always, all letters must be signed, including address (and phone number for verification). Whether a letter is published in whole or in part is totally up to the editor, whose decision is final.
As mentioned already, form letters are not published. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar, etc. and may be rejected if deemed libelous (alleging criminal activity, for example) or repetitive in content.
Notices of fund-raisers must be paid advertisements. We will not ìcoverî fund-raisers.
No letters to the editor regarding campaign issues will be published in the issue immediately preceding the election. Up to two weeks prior to election, if letters are submitted containing information or charges that require response or rebuttal, every effort will be made to see that the response is printed in the same issue in which the letter is published. In most instances, letters signed by the candidates will not accepted, but the candidate will be able to sign these rebuttal letters. Otherwise, the candidateís opinion is published in an ad.
Events involving candidates, other than candidate forums, will be covered only to the extent that all sides can be represented.
Candidates are welcome to place advertising in our publications, all duly noted that it is paid for by a candidate, a specific group or campaign committee.
To assist our readers in making their voting decisions, we will publish a Voterís Guide the week before election in November, giving every candidate for local office a chance to share his or her opinions on important issues.
Hopefully, these guidelines will help both the candidates and our readers understand our election process. Itís only July, but many candidates are off and running on vigorous campaigns. Best of luck to you all.

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