Onslaught of the candidates

I don't know what you'll be doing in the next two months, but members of the PG editorial board will be spending a lot of time with candidates  in the May 19 primary. If they all show up, we'll be interviewing 54 candidates for possible endorsement. That's in addition to the other tasks of our typical work day, researching and writing the Post-Gazette's editorials and in general producing its print and online opinion content.

These candidates are involved in competitive races (we don't endorse unopposed candidates) -- for statewide judgeships, Allegheny County Common Pleas Court and Pittsburgh mayor, council and school board. I don't know any news organization in this half of the state that makes a similar investment in staff and resources to helping readers understand the election choices before them. Our recommendations will appear among our editorials beginning sometime in April and continue till the primary. We will run an editorial recap listing all of our primary endorsements on Sunday, May 17 -- a clip-and-save feature that certain readers take faithfully to the polls on every election.

While many people already know which candidates they like in high-profile campaigns for president, governor and senator, they have a harder time choosing when it comes to, say, Commonwealth Court judge. That's when a good editorial endorsement can make a difference. Not that this is what editorial writers do for fun, but we have a unique opportunity, given our firsthand access to the candidates, to share with our readers what they need to know to make informed choices. 

To perform that responsibility, after slogging through so many interviews, is a thrill and a chore all at once. We welcome it at the start of every election season, just as we're glad in the end when we can put another round behind us. But it's way too early to think of that now. This is March 19, not May 19.