Editorial: A broader view is a better way to choose candidates than focusing on a single issue
This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.
What is your issue?
Not in a general, what's-wrong-with-you sense, but what motivates you at the ballot box? Is it a single issue - or the general quality of candidates? We prefer the latter.
Over the past few decades, a line in the sand nationally has been abortion rights for many voters. Some people will never vote for Democrats because that party's members overwhelming favor a woman's right to choose to terminate her pregnancy. Conversely, while the movement to overturn Roe v. Wade galvanized some support for Republicans for decades, the Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right was a rallying cry for Democrats in 2022, largely credited with the party's better-than-expected showing in the November midterm elections.
Similar tendencies can fuel motivations in local contests, as well. In the campaign for the April 4 election, the most contentious races across the suburbs have been for school boards. Some candidates are still upset over COVID-19 mitigations. Others were motivated to run by the presence of the illustrated memoir "Gender Queer" or other books about sexuality on school library shelves.
In the crowded race for the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 board, one slate believes education has been hijacked by a liberal agenda. In Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211, debate over the new comprehensive sex education curriculum is one reason the race for four seats has 10 candidates.
A few suburbs might see their municipal elections come down to a single issue as well.
Could it be the Elgin Mall relocation proposal in East Dundee? Village trustees voted 4-1 in February to approve a zoning change and special use permit to allow the mall to move into a shuttered Dominick's store in the River Valley Square shopping center. Village President Jeff Lynam quickly vetoed the decision. The board then overrode Lynam, but not before hearing some racist comments from residents about immigrants and crime.
In Wayne, the litmus test might be Ludwig the dog.
In 2021, Village President Eileen Phipps' husband fatally shot a neighbor's pet that he said was menacing him. Two years of public acrimony have followed, and now Phipps is facing her first challenger since 1999.
As a matter of editorial philosophy, the Daily Herald takes a broader view. We look at candidates holistically when making endorsements. Their stances on contentious issues are a factor in our endorsements, but not the overriding one.
More important in our minds is whether candidates can work collaboratively. Can they find common ground? Can they recognize a good idea from someone across the ideological aisle? Even in dissent, can they conduct themselves professionally?
It's easy to vote with your heart. But democracy works better when you vote with your head.