It's that time again — the political season is just getting started, culminating in this November's elections. While it's impossible to match the fervor and excitement of last year's election season, this year should prove to be a good time for those interested in the fate of our local regions — and, frankly, that should be everyone.

"For legislation being passed at the local level, the impact is immediate," said Ulster County Board of Elections Commissioner Tom Turco, as quoted in a Journal article from 2007. The advice is relevant even now: "When your town board puts a referendum up, or passes a resolution, or passes a budget, or when your village trustees and the mayor put legislation on the table, it happens within a very short period of time, and there's a direct impact."

So who do we have to look forward to seeing duke it out this November? In most places, there's a full slate of candidates. Wawarsing and Ellenville have races for town council, village board of trustees, town supervisor, highway superintendent, collector of taxes, and town clerk — all of which have multiple candidates vying for seats, and no candidates are running unopposed. The Town of Crawford, likewise, has four candidates for two seats on the council, two candidates for the highway superintendent position, and a whopping five candidates for only two town justice positions. Not to be outdone, Mamakating also boasts a robust group of candidates for town supervisor, town council, highway superintendent, and town justice.

To make a long story short, your vote really does matter.

We've often criticized residents who fail to meet and talk with their candidates, preferring instead to either vote along party lines, or worse yet, not vote at all. Voter apathy is a deadly and disastrous problem that does only one thing: it allows politicians to grow complacent, and to believe that they are able to do as they please once they attain a seat of power. And guess what? They're right.

By not exercising your right to vote, and by refusing to meet with your representatives, either elected or potential, your silence and inaction gives tacit approval to those who would seek to represent you in the government. And in case you haven't noticed, while our towns are great places to live, there are many problems that our elected officials should be working hard to remedy.

Letting yet another political season come and go without any participation from the public is like waving the white flag of surrender to the economic and political forces that are conspiring to keep the Hudson Valley from achieving great things.

Do yourself — and your town — a favor: when those running for local office come knocking on your door, let them in. Talk to them about your concerns. What you say can, and will, have an impact today, and in the future.