Is of the democratic process.

Many newspapers follow the time honored practice of endorsing candidates in elections at all levels. In state and national campaigns, aspiring politicians will tote up the various endorsements they’ve received as the campaign winds down and use them in their last campaign ads as proof of their worthiness to hold office.

Funny thing is, I can’t for the life of me remember when an endorsement by a newspaper has swayed my vote.

Ever.

So what we have concentrated on at the Gazette and what we hope we have accomplished with our coverage of these most important local races is to help the voters educate themselves on the issues and candidates, with the expectation that they will take the time to go to the polls and cast their vote.

For make no mistake, as many have noted, Goochland County faces a complex set of problems and every concerned citizen ought hopefully be interested in how they will be attacked and who will be leading the charge.

It’s the same all over. The recession of 2008-2009 is still with us, or at least the after effects. Revenues are down at the state and local levels. Federal spending is based on a level of borrowing that can’t be sustained indefinitely. The next Board of Supervisors likely faces a tougher budget process than last year. The next School Board likely will have less money to run the system.

Yet the need for essential services remains constant, putting those who will have to make policy decisions and those who will carry them out at the direction of the elected boards in the unenviable position of knowing that, whatever they do, many citizens will be disappointed.

But, it is at just such times as these, when things are not going well, that one can take comfort in the democratic process we take so much for granted in this country.

It was not always so here in the United States. It took a revolution, a Civil War and several constitutional amendments to guarantee the right to vote to the citizens. So no matter how many hokey columns you may have read about how lucky we are to live under a system of laws that allows a peaceful transition of power at each level of government, it’s worth saying one more time, because it’s true.

We hope we’ve been helpful. We hope you’ll vote.

Like our readers surely are, we’re looking forward to seeing how this most interesting campaign turns out and since our next print edition will go to press before the election results are known, we’ll do our first reporting on the Gazette Web site on the evening of Nov. 8.

It should make for some exciting news.