Editorial: Our only endorsement

Editorial

In my first few weeks as managing editor here, I’ve met all kinds of good people from throughout our community. A lot of them – especially those running for office – have asked whether the News & Messenger and InsideNoVa.com would be endorsing candidates in the Nov. 8 elections.

Here’s the short answer: No.

Here’s why.

Picking sides in political contests isn’t part of our mission to be your best source for local news and information. We strive to be a unifying force. We want to be a place where voices representing the full range of viewpoints in our community are heard.

Everyone who seeks public office deserves credit for putting themselves through the rigors of campaigning in order to do what they believe will make Northern Virginia a better place. Our role as a news organization is not to decide whose ideas are best. It is to keep you informed about what the candidates say and do, so that you can make your own judgments.

In addition to covering the campaigns, we’ve launched an online guide to the races and candidates. We’ve also posted videos showing the three candidates for Chairman of the Board of County Supervisors answering a series of questions. You can watch the videos and compare their responses on InsideNoVa.com. The Voters’ Guide we recently published in partnership with the League of Women Voters includes more answers from candidates in all local races.

Our reporting should not be your sole source of information about the candidates. Visit their websites. Go meet them at debates and campaign events. Talk with your friends and neighbors. Read our letters to the editor. And if you’d like to write your own letter, please send it to opinion@insidenova.com by Tuesday, Nov. 1 so we’ll have time to publish as many as we can. After that date, you can still post your thoughts on our Facebook page, where more than 15,000 people are already part of the lively conversation.

A poll of Virginia voters conducted a few weeks ago by the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Christopher Newport University showed overwhelming apathy about the General Assembly elections. About 70 percent of those polled said they were paying little or no attention. An online survey we did a few days ago, although not scientific, was much more encouraging. Of the InsideNoVa.com readers who chose to take the poll, 45 percent were “very interested” in the elections and another 22 percent were “mildly interested.”

That’s why we are making only one endorsement. We endorse you, the voters of Northern Virginia. We know you care about this community. We’re confident that you want to make informed decisions about our elected leaders when you vote on Nov. 8.

We’re here to help you do that.

Managing Editor Steve Pendlebury can be reached at 703-530-3920.