It's pretty clear that the election season has already started, but for all the announcements, the real deal doesn't start until Monday.
For 10 working days, starting at 9 a.m., candidates will bring their filing fee down to the Douglas County Clerk's Office in the Minden Inn to sign up for the chance at one of the many offices up for election.
For all the talk of voting, it is at filing time that the real democratic process begins. Over the next two weeks we will learn who will step forward to lead us over the next two to four years.
Those brave souls who file deserve our respect for their willingness to run. They will have to appear at public functions and field sometimes impertinent questions. Their character and competence may be debated in public and their finances opened to scrutiny. By the end of the ride, some will wonder if the ride was worth the price of admission.
In Douglas County, elections tend to be complicated by the fact that many of the offices appearing on ballots are completely dependent on geographic location.
Every one of the two-dozen improvement districts and town boards has some seat needing to be filled and sometimes finding someone willing to do it isn't exactly easy.
A majority of the school board is up for election, but a minority of the county commissioners.
Because it is not a presidential election year, turnout tends to be lighter, but there are plenty of other executives on the ballot, ranging from the governor to East Fork constable.
In a couple of months we will be urging folks to go out and vote, but starting Monday, we're urging good people to go out and file.
