By MaryHelen Swanson, editor

There have been some very controversial issues in our communities in the past few months and more are to be expected in the coming political campaign season.

As part of the ECM Publishers, Inc., newspaper group, The Post Review has established the following guidelines for election coverage and letters to the editor.

During the filing period for the various political offices, this newspaper will print a brief filing statement. This statement will be limited to 200 words, and a photo may be included. The filing statement must come within 10 days of filing or it will not be published.

Formal filing statements submitted by a candidate and lengthy news releases may be printed in their entirety in form of paid political advertising if the candidate so chooses.

Activities and appearances of a candidate in the newspaper’s circulation area will be reported based on their merits and news value as determined by the editor.

Notices of political gatherings will be noted on the calendar page with date, time, and place only.

A voter’s guide will be published about two weeks prior to the election to provide coverage of the various contests.

Letters to the editor are limited to 250 words and must be signed and include a formal address and phone number for verification purposes.

Whether  a letter is published in whole or part is the decision of the editor and is final.

Form letters will not be published.

Candidate endorsement letters will not be printed in the issue prior to the election. No more than two letters from a writer will be accepted during a campaign. The deadline for letters is 4 p.m. Friday.

Letters deemed libelous (alleging criminal activity, as an example) repetitive in content, in poor taste or involving personal attacks will be rejected.

In most instances, letters signed by candidates will not be accepted, but a candidate will be allowed to submit a rebuttal letter in response to a challenge or allegation made in the newspaper.

In all other cases, opinions of the candidates may be published in a paid advertisement. Post-election thank  you letters submitted by candidates must run as a paid advertisement.

These guidelines have been established to ensure a fair political climate as citizens speak up, and candidates run for various offices in the coming elections, and will be printed more than once during the year to refresh our readers on our procedures.

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