Need local candidate info? We'll have video interviews, recommendations, more | Our View

The election season begins in earnest this week for TCPalm’s editorial board as it continues interviewing candidates in the August primary.

Our board — currently made up of four staff members and five citizen advisers — has researched races, interviewed candidates and offered its opinion on the best choices for many years. For the primary, we plan to interview candidates in 24 races across Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties.

The races range from Indiantown Village Council, part of a first-time effort to inform readers in our region’s newest municipality, to an open seat in a Republican primary in newly created House District 34, which encompasses Indian River and part of Brevard County.

We completed interviews in two races last month, thanks to early qualifying for 19th Circuit judge openings.

Our plan — as it has been the past two years — is to record live for subsequent viewing on TCPalm joint interviews with all candidates for each seat we are monitoring.

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In the past, our interviews often have shown the differences — sometimes significant — between candidates.

Our hope is that by making the interviews public — which technology has allowed us to do better than ever the past two years — viewers can watch and make better-informed decisions.

One side benefit is almost all candidates answer questionnaires a week or so before the interviews. They will be posted to TCPalm soon.

Links to the content — and comprehensive information for each county’s races and regional races — will be provided at TCPalm.com/elections.

Our columnists' and board’s election-related opinions have been among our most-read and requested content for years. Members of our board have routinely received calls or emails from readers seeking advice on the best candidates. We usually only give it out if our board has done its homework and written about a race.

Eve Samples, our former opinion editor, explained readers’ interests well in a column she wrote in 2018:

“(Readers) are skeptical of accusations in attack ads and boastful slogans on campaign signs,” she said. “They don't want to blindly vote for a political party.

“These voters want the best candidate for their community — honest, competent elected officials who will spend tax money wisely, protect neighborhoods and ensure we have quality schools. They don't want inexperienced crooks.”

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Our reviews of candidates in the three counties are not driven by party politics. Since 2016, we’ve recommended 13 Republicans, 10 Democrats and two independents, along with a host of nonpartisan candidates.

We focus on criteria that serves our communities: leadership and experience, safeguarding taxpayer money, balancing economic growth and quality of life, lagoon advocacy, ethics and commitment to transparency. For school board candidates, there's emphasis on education accountability. Experience and temperament are critical in judicial races.

Reporters covering the races are not involved in the recommendations. What’s more, our ethics policy prohibits our newsroom staff — including editorial board staff — from donating to candidates, putting up yard signs, using bumper stickers and more.

Such policies have been around in legitimate newsrooms nationwide for decades. In other words, we must stick to our professional roles.

Thank you to the candidates who have put themselves up for election and agreed to be vetted by the community. And thank you for your interest in this important electoral process.

TCPalm’s candidate recommendations are decided collectively by the Editorial Board. Recommendations are based on nonpartisan criteria that prioritize the best candidates for our local community.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Candidate interviews, videos for August primary on TCPalm | Our View