By Jackson Swearer
A Certain Point of View
I sure hope some people show up for this election…
I had the pleasure of moderating a local forum for the USD 308 school board candidates earlier this month, Oct. 8. The event was hosted by Young Professionals of Reno County, Hutchinson National Education Association, and Hutchinson Area Retired School Personnel Association on the Hutchinson Community College campus.
Now, I love a good forum almost as much as a debate. Public speaking and thinking on your feet are valuable skills. I love to see a group of people put those skills to the test.
Forums provide voters with an opportunity to learn about the candidates. Style matters for the live audience, but the content of the responses is most of what will come through to readers.
Answers to questions revealed candidates’ backgrounds, priorities and approaches in addition to their views on various issues. While many topics saw general agreement among the group running for USD 308, the forum still served its purpose of helping voters evaluate the candidates to vote for this November.
Incumbents Laura Corey and Cheryl Thompson were joined by Lindsey Hatfield, Gregory Johnson and Jeff Roberson. Shontina Tipton did not attend the forum, but will be on the ballot this November. Voters in USD 308 will choose up to three candidates this time around.
Unfortunately, the forum was not as well attended as organizers had hoped. Readers of The Hutchinson Tribune can read about the forum in this issue, but low turnout is always a disappointment.
Low turnout is also common in many local elections. I hope the poor attendance is a sign that there are many things going on in Hutchinson that might occupy a Wednesday evening and does not reflect a lack of interest among voters.
Elections in odd years feature local races on the ballot, but state-level races for next year are already on some voters’ minds. With more than a handful of Governor candidates announced and a Constitutional Amendment on the August 2026 ballot, it seems possible some voters are overlooking this November.
State and national politics are important, to be sure, but local elections often have a more direct impact on residents.
Even for those looking toward the local elections this November, most of the attention of USD 308 voters seems to be placed on the school bond issue. That issue is of critical importance, but it is not the only thing on the ballot.
As a Salthawk who spent all of K-12 in Hutchinson Public Schools, I am grateful for my time as a student in the district. It is important to me that the community has good leadership for its school districts.
In this instance, there are many quality candidates on the ballot—I won’t endorse any candidate here. I will, however, cajole readers into doing some research and making sure to cast an informed vote in this year’s election.
The Hutchinson Tribune is still a fledgling newspaper, and our goal is to continue to expand and improve. One area we are considering is providing more in-depth coverage of a broader range of local elections across the coverage area.
If that kind of coverage interests you as a reader, please let us know. And, if you are particularly passionate about a local election, you can also submit a letter to the Clarion Call for consideration in print.
I hope that readers will get out and vote in all of the local city and school elections this November. While national headlines demand our attention, these local elections are still the ones that matter most.
Jackson Swearer is the Publisher and Managing Editor of The Hutchinson Tribune. He can be reached at jackson@hutchtribune.com.