To the editor:

Unopposed candidates make for complacent office holders and reduce the responsiveness of government. Local officials impact our daily lives in so many ways.

Two months from the filing deadline (June 3), as of this writing, sadly only six of 22 primary races for important area legislative and county offices are contested. Even worse, only five of the general election races are contested.

As many controversies as the Legislature and County Commission have had, you’d think that there would be a host of fresh faces vying for these seats.

Have our political parties failed in their primary duty? To field viable candidates in every race. Is this to be an election without choices?

So far, not one Republican has filed for a county office. The same is true in five of nine state House districts and one state Senate district wholly or partly in Douglas County. Democrats have done just as poorly — failing to offer candidates in five of the House, one of the Senate and five of the countywide races.

Three of the four seats in the newly expanded County Commission have not drawn a single candidate yet.

If you ask any local resident who has served as an elected official (including this writer), he or she will tell you it is a highlight of their lives and a singular honor.

Now is the time for a few good citizens to come to the aid of their community.

Jerry L. Harper,

Lawrence