I’m not sure most people would understand what it’s like to cover an election. I know I didn’t prior to this week.

Unlike interviewing business owners or politicians who were already in office, my experience interviewing candidates made me feel somewhat like a human resources professional. I had all these subjects describing their strengths to me and why they would be the best choice for certain positions. Of course, they did this so that I would relay that information to voters who read our newspaper, but it was still an unusual predicament to be in.

In all, it was hard work of the enjoyable variety. I’m game for just about any activity that enables me to interact with a wide range of personalities. Trust me, election coverage is just that.

Some candidates were reserved and got straight to business. Some were calm incumbents, while others were a bit nervous to be on video before potential voters.

The race for Willowick City Council was the best example of this variety. With 13 people running for six seats, interviewing all those candidates truly served as an exercise in interpersonal interaction. Some candidates’ campaigns were characterized by controversy, while others touted what they had accomplished in other roles and how that success might translate into a seat on the city council they were running for.

Between that race and those in Willoughby and Eastlake, there weren’t many surprises. Incumbents dominated those races except for Cindy Quinn-Hopkins in Eastlake, who will be sworn in after the new year.

It’s not something I’d be anxious to do next week or even next month, but covering candidates prior to the election provided a different communications task than what I had been used to, and that was fine by me.

Who doesn’t want a challenge on the job?

-- Brandon C. Baker