"People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing."
- Walter H. Judd

The Covington News has long been dedicated to providing the community with the best election coverage possible.

To that end, The News and Covington-Newton County Chamber of Commerce are hosting a primary election forum from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday at The Center for Community Preservation and Planning, 2104 Washington St. SW, Covington.

For the full details, be sure to check out today's front page story and our full-page ad giving you all the details.

While it's important for us to vet and provide information about the backgrounds of state and federal candidates, it's even more crucial that we help you elect local county and school officials who will have the knowledge and passion to pass laws that promote quality growth and to develop curricula that will help our students reach their highest potential.

This first forum will include only candidates who have competition in the July 31 primary. Both The News and chamber are developing questions to get to the hear of the issues, but we also want to hear from you. The News is asking anyone with specific questions for the candidates to send those questions to news@covnews.com. Put "primary forum question" in the subject line.

The News' Publisher Charles Hill Morris Jr. and chamber President Hunter Hall will moderate the forum. The forum will also be videotaped and portions of it will be able to be viewed online at CovNews.com.

We hope you'll come out and spend a few hours getting to know your local candidates.