OPINION: We're setting the dates, and hope you join

New Mexico voters deserve more than campaign ads and carefully crafted speeches before selecting their next governor. They deserve a chance to see candidates think on their feet, answer questions and face the concerns that New Mexico residents have. 

That’s why the Journal is announcing the first dates in a series of Town Halls with gubernatorial candidates and the Journal Editorial Board and staff. The conversations will be open to the public, streamed and archived on the Journal’s digital platforms. All the candidates will be invited. 

The Journal has long held Editorial Board meetings with candidates for public office. They were an important step in the endorsement process. Candidates would lay out their plans for policies and leadership in a private meeting with Ed Board members. The Editorial Board would then announce in writing who the board was endorsing and why. 

It’s an outdated practice in need of reform. So we’re freshening things up. 

We recently hosted Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman for our inaugural  Journal Town Hall. It was essentially a soft launch for our future events. We learned about issues, and we’ve taken steps to address them. We streamlined our ticketing process, and we apologize to any readers who got frustrated with our first attempt. We’re also taking steps to better direct people to our offices, at 7777 Jefferson St. NE.

Here’s what we’ve scheduled so far for Journal Town Halls with the New Mexico gubernatorial candidates:

• March 25, 3 p.m. with Republican candidate Duke Rodriguez. 

• April 14, 3 p.m. with Republican candidate Doug Turner.

• April 20, 5 p.m. with independent candidate Ken Miyagishima.

• May 4, 5 p.m. with Democratic candidate Sam Bregman. 

• May 22, 6 p.m. with Democratic candidate Deb Haaland.

For tickets, please scan the QR code or go to abqjournal.com/community-leaders-town-hall-series.

There are several reasons why the Journal is making this change. For one, we feel traditional newspaper endorsements no longer serve our readers, who have diverse backgrounds and opinions. No matter who the Journal endorsed, half our readers didn’t agree. We’re not in the business of telling you what to think. We’re here to provide you with the information needed to think for yourself. 

This format is also fairer to the candidates. In the past we could have a long conversation with a candidate who was then puzzled by what we took away from the conversation after reading our editorial. Not anymore. Anyone will be able to watch our interviews and hear from the candidates live or on their own time. 

That’s not to say the candidates will be getting softball questions. If anything, they may be tougher. And you’re part of it. The Journal will be taking questions from our digital and in-person audience and folding some of them into the interview. 

Candidates will be asked to explain their plans, defend their records and address the challenges facing New Mexico. Our state is facing serious issues — persistent crime, struggling schools, economic uncertainty, a stagnant population, a lack of behavioral and mental health services, climate change and the ongoing challenges of homelessness and addiction.

Voters deserve answers. And they should get to see how candidates react when their answers are tested. 

More transparency is at the heart of our effort. This gubernatorial campaign is going to cost millions of dollars, and everyone is going to be bombarded by ads and political slogans. We’re hoping to foster an environment that lets people in for a thoughtful discussion, not political noise. 

At the end of this campaign voters will decide our next leader. The more information they have, the stronger our democracy will be.