By RuthAnn Hogue
PINAL COUNTY (Aug. 30) — Voters on Tuesday will be tasked with choosing leaders who will serve them, help build their communities and look out for future interests both during their tenure in office and far beyond.

One vote on one ballot can make all the difference, say, between whether someone with strong leanings to the left or immovable motions to the right takes office and all of the resulting consequences or benefits that come along in either scenario.

Elected officials at the state or county level, however, aren’t generally accessible to the voting public except during campaigns, and whatever is said then could possibly be construed as fodder for winning an election.

It could also be honest-to-goodness heartfelt truth.

So what’s a voter to do?

How does one know where to make a blot in black marker that will help set into motion such a chain of events?

By now, most informed voters have probably already made up their minds on where they’ll imprint their choice in indelible ink.

Others are still likely undecided and still devouring every piece of information available about the candidates.

Still more might not know who will get their vote until they enter the polls and cast their eyes at the sheet of paper staring back at them from the inside of a voting booth.

For those who are teetering between any of the above scenarios on one or more candidates, here are a few last-minute snippets and quotes from those who wish to earn your vote. They were taken from two candidate forums — one in Maricopa and one in Gold Canyon — designed to give the public a chance to examine the issues up close.

We’ll be posting them by race, and updating them throughout the holiday weekend. So if you don’t immediately see someone’s quote you’re looking for, please check back later. Chances are it will be available on our front page sooner than you think.

In the meantime, please feel free to send in endorsements, letters, or other related comments. We’d love to post them. The one caveat is that we have to have them in by Sunday. We’re closing out opinions the day before elections to make sure any candidates who feel the need have a chance to respond. Comments or opinions should be sent to news@moremaricopa.com.

Photo by RuthAnn Hogue