The general election is less than one month away, and campaigns big and small are heading in to the home stretch. Officials said the big races are just as important as the little ones, but some voters are left wondering what exactly the candidates at the bottom of the ballot do.
Besides the so-called “big” local races such as sheriff, city commissioners, and superintendent, Leon County voters will decide some lesser known races this year. One such race is a seat on the Leon County Capital Regional Community Development Board. Robert Berlin, the board’s property manager, said board members do things like provide storm water infrastructure and green space upkeep.
“Not that the city and the county don’t provide adequate service, it’s just in the overall, because they have such large area to cover, stuff like the storm water and stuff like the maintenance, would provide a much bigger tax on to those municipalities, that’s where the District comes in, and by maintaining those things, they keep a level of value for the community a little bit higher than it might be," Berlin said.
There are two candidates on the ballot for that one seat on the board. Leon County voters will also choose three members of the County’s Soil and Water Conservation. Soil and Water Supervisors educate the public on water conservation and are tasked with annually assessing the status of the county’s soil.