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All roads to the polling booth next Monday, as voters in the Chaleur region and elsewhere across the province decide who will form their municipal governments for the next four years.

We've been dwelling on the topic of the May 12 municipal elections for the last several weeks in this space, and with very good reason. Voter turnout is seldom what it should be in any election, but apparently turnout is even lower for municipal ones than it is at the provincial and federal levels.

Exactly why is a mystery for the ages. As has been stated time and time again, municipal elections represent grassroots democracy at its best. It's your municipal government that concerns itself directly with your water and sewerage, your streets and infrastructure. They set your water and tax rate. They are a pipeline for taking provincial and federal concerns of of your community to Fredericton and Ottawa, and for dealing with our MLAs and MPs.

With all those matters alone factored in, it stands to reason that it's important that the very best people running are sitting around the council tables in Bathurst, Beresford, Nigadoo, Petit-Rocher, Pointe-Verte and Belledune.

Of course, in this particular region, there is another issue of primary concern, and that is economic development. The Chaleur communities, as we know all too well, are not prospering as they should due to a changing economy. People are moving away from here instead of moving to our area because of limited employment opportunities.

Subsequently, it is essential that the next councils in Bathurst and the other local municipalities make job creation a priority. It is no longer enough to sit back and just talk about it, or let the MLAs and MPs and community development agencies like Enterprise Chaleur worry about bringing in new businesses and industry.

Mayors and councillors need to work in tandem to benefit our region as a whole, but they need the right mindset. What's good for Nigadoo is good for Bathurst and vice versa, for example - we're such a small area that there is an economic spinoff, in one capacity or another, when there are new jobs in any of the Chaleur communities.

But it all starts with a single ballot. You have to vote in the candidates you think can get the job done. These are crucial times for our communities, and leadership and vision are required. That's the only way the Chaleur region will move forward.

But it won't happen unless you vote.