As another election cycle heats up, several seats long held by incumbent officials are now opening up due to term limits, and the races are heavily contested.

Months before the filing deadline, Leader Publications has already received multiple endorsement letters and invitations to political rallies and meet and greets. I have been impressed with the participation in local government this cycle, and look forward to sharing valuable information about candidates as the election nears.

Because there are so many races up for election — and so many candidates vying for those seats — the Leader Publications news team is more dedicated than ever to remaining fair and balanced in our news coverage and editorial pages.

Our election policy is as follows:

• No candidate running for office will be allowed to write guest columns or letter to the editor after the filing deadline. This includes incumbents who are regular contributors to the newspaper.

• Letters from supporters or endorsing a candidate must be received at least three weeks prior to an election (July 17 for primary) and we will cease publishing them at least one week prior (July 31 for primary).

• Submissions that are easily proven to be form letters instead of the author’s own words will not be printed. Leader Publications reserves the right to reject any letter that does not meet standard guidelines for submissions.

• All political ads must be approved by general manager Ambrosia Neldon and may require substantiation of claims. All ads that challenge or target an opponent will be cut off at least one week prior (July 29 for primary) to the election after a targeted candidate has the chance to respond if they so choose.

• Leader Publications’ news coverage will be driven by consistency. We will do a race preview prior to the election and provide news coverage of the results. Campaign stops, public events and candidate forums will be evaluated on their news impact to the public. Brief information announcing events will be added to our community calendar.

• The newspaper will not cover private or party fundraisers.

We encourage readers to share their views on candidates of their choosing by writing letters to the editor. Letters may be submitted via email to news@leaderpub.com, via the leaderpub.com website under the “Services” tab. Letters must not attack another person, and contact information for letter signers must be included in the email. Letters must not exceed 300 words. A full copy of our Letters to the Editor policy can be found at leaderpub.com. 

I welcome any questions about this policy, and would be happy to answer them via email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com, or over the phone at (269) 687-7770.

Ambrosia Neldon is the general manager at Leader Publications. She can be reached at (269) 687-7700 or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.