The 2025 municipal elections are entering the home stretch. The final day for absentee voting will be Saturday, May 31, and Election Day is set for Tuesday, June 3, for voters to decide Meridian’s mayoral and four contested seats on the City Council.

 

As Americans, voting is both a right and a duty, and the importance of casting a vote weighs even more heavily when considering the high price paid by previous generations of Meridianites to secure that right for all.

 

Casting a vote, however, is not enough. Filling in the bubble and sliding the ballot into the scanner does not fulfill our charge as citizens to select our leaders. If we are to fully commit ourselves to the betterment of our community, we must become informed voters and vote for candidates who we feel are best to move the city forward.

 

For voters looking at specific issues, elections can be especially frustrating as candidates often promise sweeping changes but fail to deliver as quickly or effectively as advertised after taking office. Candidates can make promises they can’t actually keep or pledge to institute changes they don’t have the authority to enact. That can be due to political rhetoric or simply a misunderstanding of what powers the elected position truly holds.

 

In Meridian, it is the City Council that is charged with setting an annual budget, allocating money to different projects and making sure the city’s bills get paid on time. The mayor is tasked with the day-to-day operations of city government, appointing department heads and maintaining city services.

 

While they are two different and distinct positions, neither the council nor the mayor can operate alone, and candidates for both positions must be willing to work together to move the city forward. In city elections, Democrat and Republican don’t mean as much as a candidate’s willingness to come to the table and desire to do right by their community.

 

In times past, spaces like this would be used to not only tell you about the candidates but also which one deserves your vote, and some large media organizations still issue endorsements in key elections. That is not that. Meridianites know what issues matter to them and don’t need a media organization to legitimize or dismiss their concerns.

 

What we will say is that this election will decide our city’s leadership for the next four years, and it is critical that residents take their votes seriously.

 

We encourage all voters to take the time over this next week to learn about the candidates running in their ward, ask questions and voice concerns. Residents should know what issues are important to them and understand how candidates plan to address them.

 

Armed with that knowledge, voters can then show up to the ballot box next Tuesday, fill in a bubble and know why that is the right bubble for them.