Seeking more community input

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS April 14, 2008 05:24 pm

— Anyone who’s been following this year’s presidential race would probably agree: This could be one of the most protracted, most contentious campaign seasons in modern history.
Whatever the eventual outcome, they would also agree that the race – or at least the candidates who are in it – has generated more public interest than in many years. Voter turnout has been unusually strong in the primaries, and regardless of which side of the political spectrum one hails from, this is good news.
The high interest in this campaign season among readers prompted the Daily Press news staff to begin a series of localized discussions about various aspects of the race.
We’ve received many favorable comments about these published forums, and will continue to publish such stories – as often as once a week, depending on what’s in the news at the moment – until the general election in November.
We are grateful for the contributions dozens of enthusiastic readers have made to this project. They’re the ones whose quotes appear in these stories, and who offer thoughtful and often unique insight into the situations at hand. We’ve been striving to amass a collection of Republicans and Democrats, as well as some more independent-minded voters who don’t fit with the planks of either party.
Among our most frequent participants are NSU professors (whose comments have been especially favorably received by readers), past and present elected officials, school teachers, business owners, students, union members, retirees, and people who would describe themselves as just plain old folks, working in the trenches.
And we can always use more. Your opinion counts, just like your vote. Don’t assume you have nothing to say, or that no one cares about your viewpoint. We at the Press do, and you might be surprised at who else does!
If you’d like to join the political dialogue – which is part of our aptly dubbed “Community Conversations” project – drop an e-mail to Teddye Snell, at tsnell@tahlequahdailypress.com. That will get you on her e-mail list for questions related to upcoming articles. You can participate as often as you like.
We welcome your input!