The political forum for local candidates on Thursday was a success for everyone involved.

The four candidates, for the offices of county sheriff and superintendent of education, who will compete in runoffs on Tuesday for their respective Republican nominations were given the opportunity to present their platform to voters. Some residents attended the forum at the Jefferson State Community College campus in Clanton, some listened live on the local radio station and others read about the event in Friday’s edition of The Clanton Advertiser and clantonadvertiser.com.

While it was our job to cover the forum, and we’re glad people depend on us to do so, we would really like to see every resident able to do so attend the forum.

Make no mistake, there was a nice crowd at Jeff State for the forum. The classroom was filled, but why could Chilton County not fill an auditorium for such an event?

Candidates spend plenty of time trying to get their message across to voters, but a forum like the one Thursday gives people the chance to see how candidates respond to questions and to each other. These interactions are often more telling about someone’s abilities than some carefully honed piece of campaign literature.

Unlike state and national races, it is usually more difficult to find information about local candidates because they’re not constantly out campaigning and don’t have fancy websites set up. People must take advantage of these opportunities to hear their messages.

We hope Thursday’s forum did much to educate county voters. In the future, we hope even more voters pay attention.