On September 15, registered Democrats in the city will choose the majority of the people - five of the nine - who will serve on City Council for the next four years. They'll choose three of the seven School Board members. And Democrats in three County Legislature districts, two in the city and one in the suburbs, will choose their party's candidate for the November general election.

The September election is only a primary; the general election is not until November. But the Republican Party has ceded control of the city to the Democrats and isn't running candidates for City Council or School Board. For these elected positions, the primary is the election.

It is bad enough that only Democrats can participate in this important election. What is worse: Typically, very few of the eligible voters show up at the polls in a primary. With a low turnout, almost anything can happen. A handful of passionate supporters can elect poorly qualified candidates. And this campaign includes some very poorly qualified candidates - people who either don't know enough or are temperamentally unsuited for public office.

It is hard to be that blunt about people who sincerely want to serve the public. Elected office - at the local level, at least - is often a thankless job, even in the best of economic times. The pay is poor, and the demands on time and emotion are great. And the few rewards - seeing school test scores inch up a notch, guiding the city through a revision of the zoning ordinance - can be offset by unhappy constituents who call in the middle of the night, send hostile letters, accost you in the grocery store, and post anonymous attacks on the internet.

The rewards of elected office are also offset by the knowledge that in the city and its school district, financial resources are shrinking as the needs increase.

In our editorial staff's interviews with the candidates in this primary, we didn't find anyone who was running for self aggrandizement. All, we believe, really do want to serve the public. All believe they have much to offer. Unfortunately, not all of them do.

The candidates in this month's primary fall into three groups. Some are exceptionally well qualified for the office they're seeking. Some are qualified but unexceptional. But some would be a drag on City Council or the School Board, doing little more than warming a seat. Or, worse, creating emotional tension and distracting the School Board or City Council from dealing with the issues they have to face.

Voters should always do their homework before an election. But this year, that's not easy. The candidates differ little on important issues. The School Board candidates all want better schools. They all want teachers and administrators held accountable. City Council candidates all want lower crime, stronger neighborhoods, more economic development. Their differences are primarily those of experience, intelligence, personality, and temperament.

A lot is at stake. This week, we are giving you our recommendations, based not only on our interviews with the candidates but also our observance of many of them in their public life, as elected officials or community activists.

To give you additional information, we have asked each candidate to provide a campaign statement that we could post on our website. Many have done so; you'll find those statements in this section of our website.

And you can find 10-minute videos of interviews with each City Council candidate on WXXI's website.

If you are a registered Democrat living in the City of Rochester or in the 18th County Legislature district (Perinton and part of Pittsford), it's important that you get to the polls on September 15. This local election is one of the most important in recent years. Too much is at stake for you to opt out of your civic responsibility that day.