text: Editor's Note: Primary Importance - Marin Magazine
  Editor's Note: Primary Importance
  Big things come in June. It's time to go back to the ballot box and also time for the next generation of voters to graduate.
  It's June and yes, that means summer, graduations and outdoor adventures, but it also means primary elections. I wish I could say I'd already been fully aware, but the realization that I was part of the sludge of inaction suffocating our great states came to me early one morning in April as I sat in a room with hundreds of fellow Marinites at San Rafael's Embassy Suites.
  We had gathered for the North Bay Business Journal's annual Impact Marin conference, where Stanford professor and Govern For California founder Dave Crane captivated the crowd with a riveting (yes, politics can be interesting) breakdown of the inner workings of California government. If you've never been lucky enough to sit in his classroom, you can see his TED Talks on YouTube.
  For me, Crane's perspective brought to light how the people making decisions that affect my life and my kids' futures are elected into their seats of power. At one point, he asked the attendees to name our Marin representatives (they are Rep. Jared Huffman, State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Marc Levine). From my vantage point in the middle of the room, the only person I could hear answer the questions correctly was our own senior writer, Jim Wood. For years Wood has offered our readers his opinions on upcoming elections — usually bring a greater-than-usual quantity of letters either in support or in passionate opposition. In that tradition, to the right are his quick picks — for more, including Wood's take on Regional Measure 3, which aims to reduce traffic congestion in all nine Bay Area counties, please go to www.marinmagazine.com/vote2018.
  Speaking of YouTube videos, if you enjoyed getting into Jonah Steinhart's mindset as he crafted the graduation speech we've published in this month's features section, I highly suggest watching it online. I was in the audience on that unusually blustery June day last year and was impressed by his humility and his message to grads to follow their hearts in life. In the spirit of that amazing speech, hats off to all of those graduating this year. We are excited to follow your paths and please do check back in with us once in a while, or tag #MarinGrad or #InMarin so we can keep track of your adventures.