Last Tuesday was the the April election. It’s been a long time coming; I’ve been covering some of the ballot issues since last summer.
This is my sixth election season as news editor. That seems crazy, but it’s meant six years of getting the election coverage right. That doesn’t mean there weren’t a few things we did that were new this year.
In 2014, my first April as news editor, I knew I wanted to move the paper to in-person interviews, not filled-out forms. My predecessor no doubt preferred those due to expediency; after all, our coverage area includes seven cities, three school districts, three fire districts, the Lafayette County commission, a rural water district, at least three road districts, and I’m probably forgetting a taxing entity or five.
The Voting Guide this year included three ballot issues and 12 candidates for five boards.
All of those don’t have elections every year, but the combination usually ends up with an exciting April. This year, the largest buzz was around a pair of levy questions to move EMS service to the Odessa Fire District, a race for first ward alderman in Odessa that ended up being decided by one vote, a no-tax bond issue at Wellington-Napoleon, a four-way race for Oak Grove school board and a slew of races in Bates City that included a three-way race for mayor, a three-way race for one alderman position and a write-in candidate who won another alderman seat.
But of course, that’s never all that’s going on. In the three weeks leading up to the election, there were also three three-hour meetings on the highly controversial reopening of what used to be I-70 Speedway.
So, I’ve been busy.
My first year of doing election coverage was a mess. I was only four months into my surprise appointment when the election rolled around, but of course it takes at least one month of preparation. I think it was the second year when I took over the design as well and we named it the Voting Guide. Over the years it has accrued a signature design that continues to improve, as well as pieces of information we always include, such as poll hours, summaries of the positions and the fact that yes, you can take the Guide to the polls with you.
In addition to candidates, we include a quick, easy-to-read summary of ballot issues. We put the ballot issues on the front page because their length makes them a good fit there, and they catch the attention of those who might not have realized something like a road district levy renewal would be on the ballot. Candidate coverage starts on the second front (our traditional feature location) and extends throughout the section as needed.
I never get every candidate to agree to an interview, though I would like to. My goal is always to get all candidates, including those who are unopposed or even automatically re-upping due to nonelection. I think the process of checking back in helps residents understand the boards and who is on them. That’s good for general knowledge, which I have come to understand isn’t very plentiful. I think a lack of knowledge is the largest contributor to a lack trust in government, which is pervasive all over the country right now.
So, what did we do differently this year?
As soon as something was on the ballot, including all filings, I started using a colorful tagline that said “April 2 election” for any stories about it. I think that helped readers know the election was coming, and what it dealt with earlier. Even though all stories would have identified the election anyway, the tagline made a good visual clue.
Starting in February (so, before the Voting Guide publishes in the three issues before the election), I did a three-piece series on the EMS question called EMS Decisions. Even though the EMS issue has been covered for the past several years, I went back and made sure to hit all the big issues cohesively. I also made a point of looking at the parts of the issue that some involved take for granted, like how the fire district currently works.
We upped our portrait game. Last year I bought a portrait light, which I’ve previously used for a community photo booth for Halloween and to take pictures with Santa. I tried it out with the candidate portraits this year, and really liked the results, which you can see a sample of below.
So, how did this election go? It was busy, but it went well. The EMS issue passed, which has the most chance to influence my own life. It took up most of my election column this time around. It was stressful, too, as tensions got high for those in a race and some of that spilled over to what we deal with in the office. The night of the election, I stayed at work until 5 a.m. so we could make our deadline. So how do I deal with that aspect of it all?
Bath bombs
Yoga
Getting out and walking the walking trail
Reading
Working on Rotary projects like Interact
Working on the Show Me convention (June is horrifyingly soon!)
Taking my camera out for fun now that flowers are here
SLEEPING.
Reciting to myself: This election season, too, shall pass.