The Nov. 7 general election isn't far away, the early voting has already begun, candidates have been making their way to a variety of public forums where they can put their best feet forward and face questions from the public, and here we go again. In order to better inform voters about the gentlemen and women running for a variety of state, federal, local and Nye County offices, the Pahrump Valley Times has prepared this special section.

Candidates were asked to fill out a lengthy questionnaire that would allow them to say, for themselves, who they are, what they believe and what they want to do if elected. Their participation was strictly voluntary; those who do not appear decided, for their own reasons, not to take part. As far as we know, all candidates were contacted either directly or through their campaign offices.

The questionnaire was lengthy, as I mentioned, and frankly, some of the responses were lengthy. Brother, were they ever. In some cases, we were forced to edit responses just to make them fit. We hope our editing was done responsibly and did not leave out critical material.

To all the candidates, we extend our thanks for their willingness to put their names forward for the voters, and we wish them well. To all the county's voters, we trust your efforts will deliver the best government possible for Pahrump, for Nye County and for the great state of Nevada.

Good luck.

Mark M. Smith, editor