Teaneck has no shortage of people willing to tell you who to vote for.

Newsletters, Facebook groups, Telegram channels, WhatsApp and email groups, social media pages, TikTok channels, community posters, (MySpace pages?) political action committees, neighborhood block associations and plenty of others may choose to endorse a candidate or slate.

That’s their prerogative.

BC News is choosing something different.

We will not endorse a candidate.

We believe a free and independent press has a different function: to to inform, ask questions and in the case of politics: hold those in power accountable to the people they serve. Ultimately to fulfill its role as the Fourth Estate.

And as this election gets underway, we want to give every candidate the opportunity to speak directly to the people they hope to represent.

Tell our readers who you are and what you’ll do.

Tell them what you believe. Tell them what you want to accomplish. Tell them what you think Teaneck can do better. Tell them what you would bring to the Town Council or Board of Education and what you hope to accomplish during your term.

Four Town Council seats and three Board of Education seats are up for election this November.

We see the resumes. We see the campaign websites, lawn signs, mailers and endorsements.

Those tell voters where you’ve been.

We want to know where you’re going.

So here’s our offer to every candidate:

Send us an op-ed.

Make your case directly to our readers.

We aren’t looking for campaign surrogates or endorsers. We want to hear from the person asking voters for their trust.

And we mean directly.

We won’t edit or rewrite your argument or turn it into something you didn’t say. If we need to, we will confirm that the piece is truly your written word. Once confirmed, it will be published word for word, so our readers hear directly from you, in your voice.

Every candidate-submitted piece gets the same treatment.

No favorites. No class system. No bumping one candidate down because someone else has more connections, more money or more friends.

Every candidate gets the same opportunity to speak directly to Teaneck.

We’ll cover the election openly and fairly. We’ll ask questions. We’ll report on what candidates, their allies and surrogates say and do. And when Election Day is over, we’ll continue doing the same thing.

Because this should be about the future of Teaneck.

Not who can shout the loudest.

Not who has the biggest group chat.

And certainly not some middle-school student council race where winning means you get to wear the title for a year.

These are people asking their neighbors to entrust them with the responsibility of public office.

Candidates: Tell Teaneck who you are. Tell us what you’ll do.

Then go do it...because we will be watching and reporting on that too.

Email your op-ed to news@bcnewsnow.com with the subject line: “Teaneck Election [Your Name] Op-Ed for BC News.”