This month’s California primary election certainly was not short on candidates. More than 60 people ran for governor. Sixteen vied for lieutenant governor. Nearly a dozen hopefuls wanted to become the next insurance commissioner. Then there was a bounty of candidates for State Assembly and Senate, along with judges, county supervisors and city leaders. The race for mayor of Los Angeles, for example, garnered a lot of attention even beyond Southern California as reality star Spencer Pratt and progressive City Councilmember Nithya Raman challenged incumbent Karen Bass, with public safety a major issue in the race.

Although election officials were still counting ballots late last week — approximately 688,180 were still being processed in just L.A. County — some contests have definitive leaders. Among LAAPOA’s endorsed candidates, results indicate Timothy Gaspar might just miss the 51% threshold to win the Los Angeles City Council spot for District 3 outright. Both incumbents Traci Irene Park, District 11, and Tim McOsker, District 15, won their races without the need for a runoff.

Whether your candidates of choice are still in the game or not, and even if you’re experiencing a bit of political fatigue from the recent deluge of phone calls, texts, mailers, social media posts and TV ads, the work is not done. The race is not over.

Rather, now’s the time to take an even closer look at these city, county, state and congressional candidates and whether their policies align with your values, as well as the goals of our association, the needs of our profession and the well-being of our communities.

“Do they realize how policing needs continue to change, such as keeping pace with drones and other technology used in criminal activities? Are they committed to addressing crime, holding criminals accountable and strengthening victims’ rights?” LAAPOA President Marshall McClain asks. “How will they address and support departments in recruiting and retaining officers? Do they support first responder labor rights and protections? We need to hear more about where candidates stand on these and other critical public safety issues.”

But it’s not just offices on the next ballot. The state attorney general received 36 ballot initiative proposals as of last month, covering an array of topics such as voter ID and, of course, taxes and spending. We’ll be watching to see how many of these propositions will secure enough signatures to be on the ballot this fall.

In fact, between now and November, LAAPOA and our PORAC partners will continue doing our due diligence in evaluating candidates and issues that affect our membership and sharing that information with you. However, we encourage each of you to stay informed before casting your next votes.

“With our country’s 250th anniversary being celebrated this year, we’re reminded of the importance of our democracy and our patriotic duty to participate in all our elections,” McClain says. “Your vote counts.”