First thing in the morning, you turn on the water in the bathroom and brush your teeth. We are usually not too concerned about the quality of that water.

Next, you may drive to work on local roads knowing they are safe. You send your kids off to school and hope your tax dollars are being spent wisely based upon budget and taxing decisions by your local school board, in conjunction with the district.

You put your trash out and hope it is picked up and then hope the waste management is handled properly.

You pay county taxes, and those politicians who help decide what those taxes will be are running for office this year.

You depend on your county voter services to provide safe and secure voting. You want your district attorney and the police department in your city or municipality to be ready to answer your call for assistance. Perhaps you have a family member with an addiction issue and you need the help of the county drug and alcohol department to help guide your loved one to the proper services one needs.

You may take a walk in the park after work and you know that either your city, municipality and/or county is taking care your park is well kept and safe.

Perhaps you need a legal issue settled or you are in a bit of trouble with the law. You know your county courts are ready to deliver justice for you or someone who has committed a crime.

You count on your municipality to have enough snow removal equipment to reach your street during those bad winter storms.

You are concerned about development — is it smart, and is it properly controlled?

All of the decisions that surround these above issues are handled by the local politicians, which you have a chance to elect May 20 in the primary election and, then again, during the general election Nov. 4.

So much of our daily lives are affected by the decisions of our local politicians — tax levels, services, protections, etc. — yet more people vote in the national elections. The numbers, you would think, should be reversed.

We need to encourage our family, friends and neighbors that the local elections this year are just as, or maybe even more important, to our daily lives, especially now as there will be many challenges to our local counties, cities and municipalities with tentative federal budget cuts.

Remember, presently, Pennsylvania is a “closed” primary system, and only Democrats and Republicans are able to vote in this primary. Hopefully the work being done in Harrisburg will lead us to become an open primary state in the near future.

Please don’t forget to get out and vote. If you are not registered, register by Oct. 20 for the general election in November.

Your vote is your power!