This year is an important one for anyone concerned with local government and looking to make a choice that they feel will benefit the community. On Nov. 5 the residents of Cicero, Clay and Salina will elect new town officers.

In all towns, the races should be interesting, In Cicero, former allies Jessica Zambrano and Judy Boyke are competing for the supervisor’s seat. As you’ve seen in these pages, Zambrano has switched parties to run for the seat, to the chagrin of some members of the Republican side of the aisle. Meanwhile, only one incumbent town councilor, Democrat Lynn Jennings, is in the running with two seats open; he’s up against newcomer Republicans Mark Venesky and Mike Becallo, with Don Snyder the other Democrat on the ticket.

In Clay, for the first time in a few years, two Democrats are vying for a spot on the typically Republican town board. James Southard and Nicholas Macaulay are taking on longtime board members Naomi Bray and William Weaver, while incumbent Republican Supervisor Damian Supervisor is running unopposed.

In Salina, almost every seat is up for grabs. Democrat Patrick Foster is once again challenging Republican incumbent Mark Nicotra. In the third ward, Mike Giarrusso is taking on Jerry Ciciarrelli, while newcomer Ted Santaguida is vying against Mike DelVecchio in the fourth. Only two seats are unchallenged: the first and second ward seats, where Republican Colleen Gunnip and Democrat V. James Magnarelli, respectively, will run unopposed.

The time is now to educate yourself on who these candidates are, hear what they have to say and decide who you will support. The Star-Review has been running profiles on these candidates for the last few weeks; all profiles are also available on eaglestarreview.com.

As you can see this week, another key part of the election season is hearing people state their opinions and start dialogues about town issues. The “mailbag” section of this paper is an excellent venue for those discussions. We always encourage any and all letters to the editor. For information on how to submit a letter, see our year-round letters policy printed on page 6 every week. For some special policies that will be in effect only for the time leading up to the election read below:

We will not print any columns from elected officials seeking reelection for the four weeks prior to the election. This includes regularly published pieces by town supervisors, mayors, county legislators, etc.

We will not print any letters containing new or negative information regarding a campaign for the week prior to the election.

We will not print any opinion pieces pertaining to the election the week before the election, with the possible exception of letters responding to or correcting a previous piece.

We will only publish one letter per person, on the same topic, in a four-week period

All letters must adhere to our 500-word limit.

Any questions regarding this policy can be directed to the editor.