THE deadline for candidates to file for the 2012 election to the 32nd Guam Legislature was last Tuesday.

Once the Guam Election Commission closed its doors that day, everything shifted; and while there are still some offices open for additional candidates, everyone who wants to be a senator for the next two years is known.

Here at the Marianas Variety we have also shifted into campaign mode, which will mean some of our regular columns on these Forum pages will be on hiatus for four months. It wouldn’t be fair to continue featuring some candidates while others would not have that same amount of exposure, so Sen. Ben Pangelinan’s Tuesday feature, “ben’s Pen,” and Sen. Judi Guthertz’s “Let’s Fix It” on Thursday have been suspended. The column “Across the Aisle” written by a rotating cast of Republican senators and featured here on Wednesday has also been discontinued.

We won’t just abandon politics as a topic, of course. Next Tuesday we’ll welcome back a former Variety columnist, Dr. Ron McNinch, to give his commentary on the election and the political process. The University of Guam professor’s students conduct frequent surveys, the first of which is featured elsewhere in this edition of the Variety. We’re also considering other writers to fill the other slots.

An election is actually one of our favorite times, for as journalists the politics of Guam is grist for our mill. We thrive on it. Even though this is a “bye” or mid-term election – that is, no gubernatorial campaign – there is already a lot of interest in this legislative race. Plus, we’ll have stories on all the mayors' races, the Public Auditor, the education and utility boards, and a likely public initiative.

So there’ll be lots to write about – and lots for you to comment on as well. And we hope you’ll continue to follow the campaigns on our webpage, offering your take on what’s happening. If you are not already a registered user of the comment feature, we encourage you to sign on and sign in. We often feature some of our Internet comments on these pages as well, so we hope you’ll join in.

Occasionally we will also ask a political question with our online poll, which requires you to log in to vote. We encourage you to do that too, and we welcome suggestions for poll questions. Send those to editor[at]mvguam.com.

For now, let the campaign begin. It’s one of the most exciting times on Guam. Follow it all here on Marianas Variety-Guam, and may the best candidate win. We extend our best wishes for their success.