BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Above are the final four snapshots of issues presented to all seven candidates for Los Alamos County Council. Comments received from the community indicate that a large number of voters are happy to read any additional information on the candidates’ positions on issues affecting the County, in addition to the information pubished by the League of Women Voters.

Covering the County Council here has changed in the last 10 years. It used to be that at least some councilors would call and chat about issues coming up on the agenda, and then there were columns to local media, which let folks know a little more about the thought process behind votes cast by individual councilors. Now, with councilors meeting individually on a regular basis with the County Attorney and the County Manager the push is for councilors and staff to keep quiet. Gone are the days of chatting with former County Manager Harry Burgess in person or over the phone on everything from the animal shelter budget to IPRA, speaking of which, not everything had to have an IPRA back then. One could just call and ask questions.

The big thing now is to get to the polls by 7 p.m. Tuesday and cast your vote. Remember Councilor seats are often won by a narrow majority. Remember who has put their best into their campaign – into letting you know where they stand – and will not be a “rubber stamp” as folks are calling it.

After the new Council is seated, the Reporter plans to reach out to get their take on issues that are coming up topical in the community, so watch out for their responses and let me know what you would like to hear about! Call (505) 412-8739 or email maire@losalamosreporter.com.