The Star’s editorial board will endorse candidates, issues, in next week’s election | Opinion
This week, The Kansas City Star will endorse a selection of candidates and ballot initiatives in Tuesday’s election.
The Star has a long history of endorsing candidates and issues. In the local April 2023 election, we did not. That was a difficult time for the board, with changes in its personnel and the recent death of Michael Lindenberger, our previous editorial page editor, just months before.
It was not because The Star’s editorial board stopped believing in endorsements like other media outlets and their owners. I, for one, am happy that’s not the case. Endorsing candidates and issues in presidential and especially community races, and explaining how we came to those decisions, arm readers with information that can help them make their own decisions.
This week, the board is focusing on the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority sales tax, the Wyandotte County Board of Commissioners and several school district races. We offered insight on some Johnson County races earlier this week. You also can find The Star’s Voter Guide at kansascity.com/election
Journalists interview candidates, experts
It’s our job to do the thing many readers can’t: spend days, weeks and sometimes months researching issues and races. Our process can vary, but there is one: We speak to candidates about their platform and what they believe in. We interview the movers and shakers behind ballot questions to find out what, in our opinion, is best for the greater Kansas City community.
In the coming year, we will begin inviting candidates and community groups to speak to the board as we prepare for the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.
Why don’t we weigh in on every race? The bandwidth of the board, for one, but also because we must make informed recommendations when we endorse. If we don’t have the full picture or have been unable to fully research the topic, or, as has happened in the past, when a candidate refuses to sit down with the board, we can’t make that informed decision to endorse.
Readers make a big difference, too. When you reach out and tell us your concerns about particular races, we listen. This election, we picked the issues and races that have risen as community talking points – the issues that make a difference in your everyday life. That will continue to be the driving force of where and how we use our resources.
We might not agree with all of you — that’s a certainty — but I promise that these endorsements are researched and thoroughly considered as a board, not just one person, and certainly not just me.
‘The tough work of democracy’
Some media critics say endorsements have outlived their usefulness, but I disagree. Lindenberger said it best in one 2022 column: “It’s my belief that if we’re asking voters to do the tough work of democracy, then we can’t in good conscience sit on the sidelines.”
My tenure here has been one of transparency, and so I encourage you to share your own opinions on our choices, whether you agree or disagree. We’ll publish as many letters as we can. Write 200 words or fewer, and submit them at kansascity.com/letters
I’m sure I will hear from many of you who agree with Eli Joseph Abad’s University of Georgia study observing that “newspaper endorsements are generally quite predictable events.” Ouch, and touché.
OK, noted, but do we really expect our endorsements will change your minds? Maybe, but that’s not why we write them. As your editorial page editor, I am confident that we will make you think about your choice to vote, and that is what’s important.
This story was originally published November 1, 2023 at 5:01 AM.
