Too much is at stake to sit out primary election on Tuesday

Sad to say, Tuesday promises to be yet another sleepy election day throughout the Mahoning Valley. Officials at boards of election throughout the Valley and Ohio predict near record-low voter turnouts.

Estimates range from 20 percent in Columbiana County to as high as 28 percent in Mahoning County.

If history is instructive, then sadly those embarrassing predictions most likely are on target. We hope, however, that the Valley electorate surprises us with much higher percentages.

After all, much is at stake at the polls for many communities and school systems in the Valley.

All Mahoning County residents, for example, will have their say on whether the county should repeal or make permanent a 0.5-percent sales tax, a pocketbook issue that affects virtually every purchase large and small in the county.

In Youngstown, residents can sound off on the proposed ban on hydraulic fracturing in the city in the one place where it really counts — the ballot box.

In Austintown, the buzz has reached a fevered pitch surrounding a bond issue to construct a state-of-the-art school to replace the 46-year-old Fitch High. In Liberty, a levy to repair roads has generated significant interest both pro and con, judging by our many readers’ letters on the topic.

To be sure, your one vote will have a much stronger and more direct impact on your everyday lives than your one vote for president of the United States in 2012.

Thus, we urge residents of the Mahoning Valley to cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election. In addition to the candidates, there are numerous issues that have can have long lasting consequences to the quality of life in communities large and small.

As usual, polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. throughout Ohio. Early voting at boards of election ended at noon Saturday.

OUR ENDORSEMENTS IN REVIEW

The Vindicator’s commitment to elections is long-standing. We spend hours in endorsement meetings with candidates for office and with representatives of major ballot issues. Based on what we learn, in those interviews and elsewhere, we issue endorsements.

What follows is a summary of our recommendations for political-party races and issues that we explained in greater detail in editorials in this space over the last four weeks:

Ohio governor: Democrat Edward FitzGerald

6th District Congress: Democrat Jennifer Garrison

13th District Congress: U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland

14th District Congress: U.S. Rep. David Joyce, R-Russell Township

7th District Appellate Court: Democrat Anthony Donofrio

Mahoning County Probate Court: No endorsement.

59th Ohio House representative: Democrat Janet Tarpley

63rd District House: State Rep. Sean O’Brien, D-Bazetta

64th District House: Democrat Michael O’Brien

Trumbull County commissioner: Democrat Frank Fuda

Trumbull County Probate Court judge: Democrat James A. Fredericka

State Issue 1 for Ohio infrastructure: Yes

Mahoning County sales tax: Yes

Youngstown Community Bill of Rights charter amendment: No

We also reaffirm our support for public education by urging residents to vote “Yes” for renewal levies and income taxes that will not raise taxes. We urge voters to study carefully those school and other community issues that do seek additional taxation.