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Yes, 2023 is a year full of promise indeed.

Tuesday, Jan. 3, marks the beginning of a new session for Mississippi State Legislators. And for some, it may be their last for a while.

For many, this date isn’t a small blip on your radar when it definitely should be much more than that.

Qualifying for local and statewide elections also begins on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.

We should all care about what happens at the capital because it impacts all of us in some shape or form. It affects everyone who drives on Mississippi roads. It affects our children in classrooms and the teachers they learn from eight hours a day, five days a week.

It affects our hospitals, doctors, and nurses and the quality care they can give to us in our time of need. It affects our prisons, and our criminal investigators and what affects them affects all of us as they work hard to keep average citizens like us safe.

There’s another very important reason why we should all be paying attention to our local and state leaders in 2023.

It’s because on Aug. 8, 2023, there is a primary election. Then on Nov. 7, there is a general election. These leaders will be fired up campaigning for your vote, but actions speak louder than words. If you disagree with anything that has been done or is being done, we the voters have the power to change it.

That said, pay attention to what our leaders have to say in the coming months — and more importantly, to the decisions they make.

Locally, counties will see these positions on the ballot: Board of Supervisors, Tax Assessor, Tax Collector, Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, Coroner, Constables, Adams County Sheriff, Surveyor, County Attorney, Justice Court Judges and Election Commissioners.

All Mississippians will also see state elections. Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, Commission of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, State Senators and State Representatives are each up for election, as are the Transportation Commissioners, Public Service Commissioners and District Attorneys.

A wise man once said only those who vote have the right to complain. If you don’t pay attention and vote on Aug. 8 and Nov. 7, you give up complaining rights for the next four years.

In 2022, our state saw historic tax cuts and teacher raises, changes in our flag and the state anthem. In Adams County, we saw many decisions that impact us closer to home: decisions — or lack thereof — about the county jail, phase one of the Morgantown Road widening and repaving project finally beginning, and all property owners should have seen their tax bills in the mail by now. The question is, are you happy with those decisions or not?