By Tribune-Review

Published: Friday, March 22, 2013, 8:57 p.m.
Updated: Friday, March 22, 2013

Who oversees the management of your school district? Who makes sure the streets of your borough or township are safe? And who decides how much tax you will pay based on the value of your home and land?

You will pick those people this year, first in the May 21 primary and then in the Nov. 5 general election.

You also have the obligation to decide who should be county coroner, district attorney, sheriff and jury commissioner.

Leading up to the primary and then the general voting, we have — or should have — a great deal to do.

We have to identify those candidates who will be able to rise above the petty and personal morass that so often hampers the creativity of our councils, boards of supervisors and school boards.

We need officials who are willing to advance the causes of their citizens — looking not only within municipal boundaries but also to cooperative ventures with neighboring towns — and who will work with elected officials on state and federal levels.

We need officials who will limit the tax revenue bite and find ways to involve citizens in improving life in our towns.

But mostly, we need leaders who know how to inspire citizens to work together for the good of the community, to look at the bigger picture and the longer term.

Our firefighters do it and our youth sports organizers do it. We should expect no less from those who aspire to public office.

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