Early voting for municipal elections began Monday, and with it an opportunity for all of us in Denton to reverse our sorry tendency to ignore the political races that affect our lives on a day-to-day basis.

Voter turnout in local elections is, or should be, a scandal in Denton and across the country. Each election, a handful of voters decide the fates of entire cities as the majority snoozes on, unmindful or uncaring about the government that is closest to them, the government that touches their lives every day by protecting them from crime (or not), maintaining their streets (or not) and attracting clean and responsible industry (or, well — you know).

The races for mayor and City Council in this year are tailor-made to overcome that kind of apathy and get voters to the polls. A legal challenge to the eligibility of some candidates stirred up the interest of a normally somnambulant electorate, and a lengthy ballot, filled with experienced incumbents (too experienced, in the minds of some) and concerned, well-informed newcomers have put the contests on the front pages of the papers. Some of the candidates possess more gravitas than others, but for a welcome change, there isn’t a tinfoil-hat-wearing loony in the bunch.

Mayor Perry McNeill is seeking re-election against three opponents — former council member Mark Burroughs, local businessman and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Justin Bell and University of North Texas political science student Darac Favre.

Mayor pro-tem Pete Kamp has resigned her District 2 council seat a year early to seek the at-large Place 5 seat. She faces Mike Sutton, who owns a retail business and has emerged as an unofficial spokesman for the interests of Fry Street preservationists. Seeking to serve out the one year remaining in Kamp’s District 2 term are John Ryan and Rudy Moreno. Two-term at-large Place 6 incumbent Joe Mulroy is facing a strong challenge from Jerry Mohelnitzky.

Not only do all of these candidates have something to say, they’ve been given plenty of opportunities to say it. You haven’t been able to trip through a doorway lately without stumbling into a candidates’ forum at which these hopefuls were presenting their cases and then defending them before an inquiring jury of their peers.

All of these candidates have done their jobs; now it is time for us to do ours.

Early voting began Monday and runs through May 6. You can vote early at City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. now through Friday; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday and May 6.

If you don’t make it out early, election day is May 10.

This is the best chance we’ve had in a long time to make sure our city government is selected by a meaningful segment of the electorate. Let’s not drop the ball. Vote early if you can, or find your polling place and vote on election day, May 10.