Letters and candidates

* Regarding letters about candidates and election issues:-- Letters from candidates will not be published from the time a person files for office until the day after the election, unless the letter is about a nonelection topic and considered of unusual importance to the public dialogue regarding topics of current topical interest.

-- Letters about local candidates will not be published. Local candidate issues may be addressed through advertising. Please consult an advertising representative for guidelines.

-- Letters about election issues will be published until the Tuesday before an election. In the week prior to an election, only rebuttals to previously published letters will be considered for publication. Any letter received after 5 p.m. Thursday prior to an election will not be published. No letters about election issues will be published on the Sunday or Monday prior to an election or on Election Day.

* These guidelines notwithstanding, the editor will make the final determination on the suitability of all letters submitted for publication.