Election season is officially upon us.
At Black Press, we plan on providing readers with coverage that is second-to-none, when it comes to local campaigns.
The Comox Valley is split into two ridings. Comox and all points north of Courtenay are placed in the North Island-Powell River riding, while Courtenay, Cumberland, and all other Valley areas, including Denman and Hornby islands, are part of the Courtenay-Alberni riding.
As such, we will be doubling our efforts, to ensure both ridings are adequately covered.
In our Thursday, Sept. 19 paper, we will introduce all the candidates registered in both ridings. In the coming weeks, we will be publishing candidates’ responses to a series of questions deemed relevant to our constituencies.
Additionally, we have video segments planned with each of the candidates, for our online readership at comoxvalleyrecord.com, where you can also follow all the national coverage.
It is our goal to provide the residents of the Comox Valley with the tools necessary to make an informed decision on Oct. 21.
As for reader contributions, now that the election has been called, we will no longer run Letters to the Editor advocating for or against any individual candidate, or any party, due to space constraints.
This policy, while not always popular, is necessary. (All it takes is one letter-writing campaign from a riding association to flood our letters page for the duration of the election campaign.)
Readers will have the opportunity to respond online with comments in articles, and on Facebook.
We also take this opportunity to thank all the candidates for putting their names forward in this election. The democratic process is contingent upon participation, and by putting your name on the ballot, you are the most important part of the process.
In the era of social media, running for public office is a much more invasive process than ever before. It takes an enviable level of courage to expose yourselves to the masses in this day and age. For that, we are all grateful. Good luck to all the candidates.
