Don't forget to vote

If the late House Speaker Tip O'Neil was correct when he said all politics is local, then no politics can be more important than local politics. And that makes today's municipal primary one of the most important elections in which voters can participate.

If you live in a city with a primary, have you set aside time to cast a ballot?

Unfortunately, turnout for an election like today's is too easy to predict. It's going to be low. Given all that is at stake, however, we hope that prediction is way off.

In many Utah cities, an impressive number of candidates have filed to run for each available office. That's an indication that, even in relatively prosperous times, local communities face challenging issues and some people are unhappy with the way things are going.

Ogden is a prime example. The city has four available City Council seats, and 19 people have stepped up to fill them. Only eight of those will go on to the general election in November. Ogden's issues center around its struggling downtown area and a proposal to allow Wal-Mart to build there.

Other cities face challenges of a different sort. In Heber City, residents are dealing with a growth rate that is the second highest in the nation. From 2000 to 2003, the city grew by 15.1 percent, and it has shown no signs of slowing down. Three people are running for mayor and 10 are running for the City Council. Each has different ideas about how to preserve the small-town atmosphere while still providing the taxbase and services necessary for a larger community.

In West Jordan, seven people are battling for two vacant at-large City Council seats. Six people have signed up for one vacant council seat in Salt Lake City, and 11 people are running for two vacant seats in South Jordan. Growth, and all the issues that come with it — such as traffic, the need for services, noise and the need to plan for commercial and industrial construction — dominate many of the races. With Utah's population booming, the decisions voters make today, and again in November, could have a big impact on the way the state looks to future generations.

This newspaper has given thorough coverage to each municipal race, including the positions individual candidates take on specific issues. Those can be accessed from the archives of the newspaper's Web site, www.deseretnews.com.

Take a little time to study what they say, then take a little time today to vote. It easily could be the most important thing you do today.