I hope that all of you who have been complaining about city government or school board issues made the trek to the Marion County Courthouse to sign up as a candidate for the next round of elections. For some time now the rest of us have listened to you tell us what the “gummint boys” are doing wrong and we plan to vote for you so that we can finally see it done right.

The official count for needed candidates in our immediate area is a bit staggering. In Peabody, we need one mayor, two councilmen, and three school board members. Florence needs one mayor and two council members. In Burns, one school board member, a mayor, and two council members are sought. That is a whopping 13-interested individuals willing to take all manner of whining, criticism, late night phone calls, and backstabbing by those who will always know everything about everything.

In addition, if the races are to be even moderately interesting there should be at least two candidates for each position, don’t you think? That equals 26 candidates. What do you want to bet we don’t come close to that number?

If you signed up to run, thanks for making the effort. We know you will do a stellar job of working within your budget, corralling those employees who “don’t do nuthin’ but ride around all day,” and bringing new businesses and families to our towns to ensure growth and prosperity.

Actually, if you signed up to run, I really do thank you. I have seen the jobs you people will have to do if you win. I am not interested in joining your ranks, but I have empathy for what you have to go through. In addition, I can actually understand those who finally sit up and say, “Man, I am out of here. You people are NOT going to smack me around anymore.”

Public office can be a thankless job. It appears to be more often thankless than rewarding. But nothing would ever get accomplished without those who volunteer to fill the positions.

So if you are running, thanks for stepping up to the plate. I hope you win. If you are a chronic whiner who didn’t bother (once again) to put your money where your mouth is, watch out. It is still possible for the rest of us to run you as a write-in candidate.

— Susan Marshall