In our opinion: Get ready to vote

The calendar just turned the page to August, and here we are, talking about November already. We’re talking about Tuesday, Nov. 4, to be precise. That’s the date for the General Election this year.

Yes, temperatures may still soar to the 90s outside right now, instead of being in the 60s, 50s or maybe even 40s — hopefully not — as they’re likely to be in November. Still, the time both we as voters and the candidates themselves spend now determine what our lives look like for the next four years.

This fall, there is no “big name” seat up for election. Gov. Christie is firmly entrenched into his post for another few years, and a successor to President Obama won’t be selected until 2016.

In New Jersey, the two biggest elections will be for a U.S. Senate seat between Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Jeff Bell, and a U.S. House of Representatives seat (1st Congressional District) between Republican Garry Cobb, Democrat Donald Norcross and independent candidate Scot John Tomaszewski.

But these elections are just as important, if not more so, on a local level. Throughout New Jersey, municipal governing bodies and boards of education will be holding elections to choose new members to represent the town. Mayors, councilmembers and school board members often have a greater impact on your daily life than your governor and president.

The governor and president may be the “sexier” post to vote for, but your trash pickup, your property taxes and your kids’ school curriculum has more of an impact on your day-to-day life, and those local post holders are the ones who control those areas the most.

So just because you won’t be voting for the next governor or the next president doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be in tune with this November’s elections and this November’s issues.

We at The Sun will be providing you as much election coverage as we possibly can this fall, especially when there is a contested election at the municipal level.

If your town has a contested municipal election, expect a full, multi-week Meet the Candidates series where we’ll provide you all the detailed information about the election itself, as well as profiles of the candidates and their stances on the issues that are important to you.

If you have any questions that you’d like us to ask the candidates, please feel free to email us at the address to the right.

So while you may still be making trips to the beach and thinking about back to school or the start of football instead of heading to the polls, don’t fall behind on the issues at hand. What happens behind those curtains in November could have a profound impact on what happens in front of them for the next four years.