The COURIER has long had a tradition of endorsing political candidates all the way up to the national level. My father Martin was a political junkie who every four years would travel to both the Republican and Democrat conventions, always looking for some sort of local angle for his My Side of the Line column.

I vividly remember in 1968 walking out on the streets of Chicago to a scene of police arresting political protesters.

Martin’s political recommendations were so trusted, readers literally would take the COURIER with them to the polls.

The biggest change for today’s COURIER is our endorsements now focus solely on local races including the city council, school board and bond measures. Both editor Kathryn Dunn and I believe our role should be to focus on local coverage, including endorsements.

Starting with this November’s elections, the COURIER will pivot again and stop making endorsements for candidates entirely. This will have no impact on our coverage, which will remain as robust as ever. But as the COURIER gets closer to changing to nonprofit status—we have been incorporated as a nonprofit by the state of California and are currently awaiting approval from the IRS—the one requirement for political coverage is eliminating endorsements written by the entire staff.

This stipulation does not impact readers’ comments, advertising, or even future topics in My Side of the Line columns. Opinions will still be part of the Claremont COURIER coverage. There just cannot be any official recommendations from the COURIER as a nonprofit.

Today’s coverage of the city council and school board election focuses on candidate opinions and priorities. You will hear directly from them, in their own words.

As we move into our new phase, you will still see comprehensive coverage of elections and issues Claremonters care about. And we are confident COURIER readers will continue to make educated decisions regarding how and who manages over The City of Trees.

Peter Weinberger, publisher

Kathryn Dunn, editor