Election Corrections and Updates

Last week, the final candidate slates for the upcoming elections across the county were released.  In our front page story, there were a few notable errors in presenting the names.  One of them was a contested race, the School District 149 trustee race, in which the candidates are Brandi Wakley and Phillip James Knox, who was misnamed as James Phillip.  

The other was an uncontested race for Grace City Council, and the candidates are Kimi Lowe and Tyler Hyrum Butikofer.  Apologies to the candidates for the transposed middle and first names—there is no good excuse when something as important as an election is on the line.

As the campaigning picks up in the various races across the valley, the Enterprise is excited to hear from both the candidates and the voters over the course of the next month and a half.  Similar to last year’s elections, the following policies will be in place:

For Candidates

All candidates, for any position on the ballot whether it is contested or not, are invited to submit a “candidate introduction” of up to 750 words with one picture.  Feel free to speak to your potential voters about your experience, your plans for the future, and what you would like your community to know about you and your candidacy.  Please focus on the positive message of what you, yourself, bring to the table.  Avoid the negative messaging tied to any other candidates running.  

Any materials after the introductory submission will be considered advertising materials, and treated as such.  Any news coverage that happens in the normal course of events involving a candidate, is not considered advertising.

Candidates are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor in support of other candidates, or in response to materials related to their respective races should they feel a need to clarify or respond to any issues that have been raised, within reason.

For the Community  

Letters to the editor will gladly be printed from anyone who wishes to submit them, with the following stipulations:  each writer will be limited to one letter of support for each candidate.  In the event that there are a number of support letters that present similar statements of support, they may be edited for length or a representative example may be selected for the same reason.

Letters, like candidate statements, should avoid directly negative characterizations or denigratory statements about specific candidates.  Addressing relevant issues is certainly fine, but avoid personal attacks and elevate the discourse to a civil and polite level.

Calendar

This year’s election will take place on November 4, and the Enterprise will honor the Caribou County Sun’s tradition of not running letters or candidate statements the Thursday before the election (October 30) in order to make sure that candidates are not left without a chance to respond to anything raised right before the election.  The final publication date for letters and profiles will be October 23.  Advertisements that simply present the candidate’s name/information to the voters will be accepted through October 30.

Contact

Any candidate or community member who would like to submit materials to the Enterprise can send them to [email protected], or mail them to P.O. Box 331, Soda Springs, ID, 83276.