Tuesday’s primary elections went off smoothly in the Black Belt

region. A couple of items stood out as positive points that we should

take a closer look at.

First, the election season was virtually free of the political games and

nasty tricks that have plagued local elections before. For the most

part, the candidates ran &uot;clean campaigns&uot; that stuck to the issues

and highlighted some of the needs in Selma, Dallas County, Perry

County, and Wilcox County.

The race for the District 67 House seat had the possibility of turning

ugly. The field of candidates was large and the candidates could

have easily gone on the attack to draw attention.

The issue-oriented behavior of the candidates in the District 67 race

was what people expect from candidates. Most of us don’t enjoy

negative campaigns.

We expect the candidates to talk about the issues and explain why

they are the best candidate for the position and not why someone

else is less qualified.

That may at times be boring or uneventful, but antics and emotions

only get in the way of real decision-making.

A second point we should be happy about is voter turnout.

Americans are often chastised for their lackadaisical attitude toward

voting. However, in Selma and the Black Belt area, voter turnout is

rarely a problem when gauged against the paltry numbers seen

throughout the United States. Unofficially, voter turnout was in the 40

percent range for Dallas County. This is not a bad number for a

primary election.

Of course, that means that majority of us didn’t bother to vote. So

there is room for improvement.

With a run-off election looming, we hope the candidates remain

focused on the issues and why they are the best candidate. That is

the way voters prefer it so that they can make the best decision.