Don’t just be a voter — be an informed voter

A week ago, the CNA partnered with the Creston Chamber of Commerce and KSIB to host a candidate forum for the city/school election being held Nov. 4. The event had record-breaking attendance.

Last night, we partnered with the Afton Star Enterprise to host the inaugural candidate forum for the Afton city council and East Union candidates. It was very well attended.

These were my first candidate forums as I typically am gone covering sporting events this time of year. Thank you to Larry Peterson for covering the cross country state qualifying meet in Pella last night.

While I consider myself to be more informed than most due to my profession, I was surprised to discover how much the Creston forum impacted my thoughts on each candidate.

Specifically there were candidates who I was sure I did not want to win their seat, but hearing them speak changed my tune.

We all make assumptions about a person based on little interactions we have or even have heard of. But when you hear their direct responses to questions of public interest, it helps clear the uncertainty.

The forum is essentially an interview with the public for a job. As someone who has conducted many interviews and prepared people for interviews, I knew what I was looking for.

I was happy everyone came with a prepared opening statement. This shows candidates were willing to put in the work before the forum. During the question portion, incumbents typically have somewhat of an advantage as they more thoroughly understand the workings of the council/board.

Newcomers were able to put together some strong answers as well, citing previous experience that would assist them in this endeavor.

Putting on my interviewer hat again, I love when people offer specific, tangible ideas.

For example, Jason Cook said he’d want to take the new police chief on a ride through the school parking lots during morning drop off to get an outside opinion on how the school could manage the traffic in a better, safer manner.

Korey Sanchez suggested livestreaming city council meetings and uploading them to the website to make them more accessible to the people of Creston who may not be able to attend.

Each one of us, as voters, has different priorities for what we want to see out of our new council members and school board members. While we all know campaign “promises” don’t always pan out, it’s a good place to start in making up your mind.

Not everyone who wanted to attend the forum could be there, I’m sure. But you have 12 days left to watch the recordings on Panther TV. I know some of my votes have changed based on what the candidates shared last week.

I’d love for everyone to watch the forum and read up on the candidates before voting, but I know it won’t happen. At the very least, show up to the polls on Nov. 4.

We read the comments on our city council and school board stories. We see people arguing over decisions made by those elected to represent them. There are things we can do as citizens to be involved in our government and the easiest is to vote.

Creston will be voting on contested city council races in Ward 1, Ward 5 and an at-large position. The Ward 3 incumbent is running unopposed. For the Creston Community School Board, five candidates are running for three spots.

In Afton, there is a contested mayoral race between the current and a former mayor. There are also three candidates running for two council spots, a contested District 1 race for East Union school board and an uncontested race in District 5.

Iowa is one of 23 amazing states that have same-day voter registration. So if you aren’t yet registered to vote, you can do that at the polls.

In order to register, you need to provide proof of who you are and where you live. The easiest way to do this is with a valid Iowa driver’s license with your current address on it. But that’s not the only way.

Many forms of ID are acceptable, including an out-of-state ID, passport, military ID and employer-issued or student ID. You can then provide proof of residence with a document from the past 45 days with your name and address on it. Acceptable proof includes residential lease, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check/document or property tax statement.

For all elections, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Find your polling place here and a sample ballot with all Union County races here.