By the time you read this, the Nov. 5 election will be over.

Votes will be tallied and new mayors, council members, supervisors, school board members, county commissioners and county executives will have been chosen.

Voters will also have decided on future funding of the Parkland and Salisbury Township libraries.

There could be close races, some write-in votes may still remain to be counted and a recount or two might be requested.

Of course, the winners will not be officially announced for a couple weeks.

The municipal election is an example of grassroots Democracy in action. There are no Electoral College votes to deal with, as in the presidential election.

The people vote directly in the Municipal Election for the candidate they believe will best serve their community.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the turnout at the polls for these "off year" elections has been miserably and shamefully low.

The people who seek election to these offices should be praised for offering their time and talent to make the Lehigh Valley a better place to live, raise children and prosper. (A discussion of whether or not the winners turn out to be honorable is left for another time.)

The voters who went to the polls Tuesday should be praised for participating in the American process of self-determination.

Without both sides of the coin participating – those who choose to lead and those who determine the leaders – this country would never have survived, even with its high and low points, for more than 200 years as the "shining city upon the hill."

Deb Palmieri

editor

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press