Political season opening

Filing for local and state political office kicks off Monday, but the campaign has been under way for several months.

Officially, the filing period in Nevada is March 1-12 for the June 8 primary election. This will be the first time Nevada has had a non-presidential primary election in June. The Legislature moved the primary forward from August after complaints of low turnout, which typically plague primaries.

That's too bad, because there are some decisions to be made about the future of our state in the primary elections.

Republicans, which make up the dominant party in Douglas County, will face picking their champion to take on Sen. Harry Reid in the general election. Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons will have to fend off challenges from his own party, before he faces the general electorate in November. Races for state senate, assembly and county commission are already developing.

Nevada's primary election rules limit voters to their own party, which in Douglas County means county commission and legislative races are decided in the primary, not the general.

On Feb. 2, there were 16,553 Republicans, 9,443 Democrats, and 6,676 nonpartisan and minor party voters in the county. It has been nearly 30 years since a candidate with a "D" behind their name won office in Douglas.

We thank those candidates who seek office in advance for their participation. We salute those willing to put their lives on hold for the next three months in order to serve.