The past few months have been full of campaigning, election forums, candidates bickering, thousands of signs on the side of the road and the occasional baby kiss.

Those are just a few of the things that characterize local elections as we know them.

Yesterday saw candidates in a number of close races across our county, including the Shelby County schools superintendent race, the sheriff&8217;s race, and the Alabama Senate, Seat 14 race in the southern part of the county.

Each of these races pitted well-known local against one another for some of Shelby County&8217;s most influential positions.

While most of the candidates in each of these races disagreed with numerous policies of their rivals, we have to feel proud of that fact that each of them invested everything they had in trying to make Shelby County a better place for its residents.

Unlike other races in the state that saw opponents bashing each other and trying to win by mutilating their opposition’s name, most of Shelby County&8217;s candidates seemed to focus on the issues.

A number of candidate forums held throughout the area proved as great mediums to help the public both understand the issues and see where the candidates stood on each item.

Elections can oftentimes be degraded to who has more signs on the roadways or who has made less mistakes in their lives.

It&8217;s a good thing that Shelby County politicians, win or lose, seem to have their heads on straight