It's easy to get riled up about Donald Trump. His briefbut somehow seemingly endlessreign, punctuated by nods to white supremacists and rank malfeasance, has served as a catalyst for protests and marches all over the country.

But as much as Trump is a focal point of our collective animus, most of the decisions that affect your day-to-day lifeschool funding, property taxes, infrastructure, zoning, building codes, trash collectionare made closer to home. And yet our local municipal elections are marred by abysmal turnout. In October 2015, just 11 percent of voters showed up in Wake County; in Durham County, less than 8 percent. Some of these races came down to just a couple hundred or even a few dozen votes.

Which is to say: vote, dammit! It really matters!

As always, our endorsements are designed to help you make informed decisions. And, as always, we're up front about our biases: the INDY is a progressive newspaper, dedicated to economic and social justice. We evaluate candidates through this prism, also factoring in experience, pragmatism, effectiveness, and their ability to articulate a cogent vision. We've posted candidates' answers to our detailed questionnaires on indyweek.com so that you can see for yourself what they stand for, regardless of whether we endorsed them.

This week, we'll be endorsing in Raleigh, Durham, and Cary's municipal elections, all of which will be held October 10, with early voting starting Thursday. Our endorsements in races being held on November 7including elections in Orange County municipalities and for the Carrboro-Chapel Hill City Schools Board of Educationwill be released October 18.

See you at the polls.

RALEIGH

The INDY Endorses Nancy McFarlane for Raleigh Mayor

The INDY Endorses Russ Stephenson and Nicole Stewart for the Raleigh City Council At-Large Seat

The INDY Endorses Dickie Thompson for Raleigh City Council District A

The INDY Endorses David Cox for Raleigh City Council District B

The INDY Endorses Corey Branch for Raleigh City Council District C

The INDY Endorses Kay Crowder for Raleigh City Council District D

The INDY Endorses Stef Mendell for Raleigh City Council District E

The INDY Endorses the Raleigh Transportation Bond

DURHAM

The INDY Endorses Steve Schewel for Durham Mayor

The INDY Endorses DeDreana Freeman for Durham City Council Ward 1

The INDY Endorses Mark-Anthony Middleton for Durham City Council Ward 2

The INDY Endorses Vernetta Alston for Durham City Council Ward 3

CARY

The INDY Endorses Edward Yerha for Cary Town Council At-Large

The INDY Endorses Jennifer Robinson for Cary Town Council District A

The INDY Endorses Kenneth Presting for Cary Town Council District C