OPINION

We asked our Sounding Off list members:

What down-ballot race in the March 2 primaries makes you want to get to the polls?

If the spirit moves you, feel free to respond to this question in the comments section here. Or, if you'd like to join the Sounding Off print respondents, click this link to send your full contact information to communityopinions@dallasnews.com.

Also, check out past Sounding Off questions.

For some of the responses to this week's question, keep reading ...

Re: "Why do so many young people feel so blue? We must halt this wave of depression and self-injury, says Viviana Cruz of Carrollton," last Sunday Student Voices column.
It appears this columnist is saying that it is teachers' and the media's fault that our teens are more depressed. I do not know this teenager and do not point to her being a culprit with any of these observations.
You do not need your teacher to be your buddy; you need a teacher to teach. And for the "million and one other activities" -- stop it. We all cannot be great at everything. Keeping a kid on the third string and frustrated so as not to hurt his self-esteem is nonsense.
You want the media to report more positive events. Super! As the great consumer, you have a lot of influence, and the marketing gurus want to sell to your generation. So if you want more positive images, show them.
And finally, teens have the most influence over other teens. Bring your own optimism to the ones around you. God, family and friends -- in that order.

I receive a barrage of mail, electronic phone calls and personal phone calls during each election. Mail is generally good. I can study it at my convenience, and it helps me to make a decision on whom I will vote for. But politicians have to say something.
It is fine to tell me where they went to school, how long they have lived here and what church they go to. Frankly, that is frequently a bunch of fluff.
I want to know is how they stand on various positions that the office they seek would control. What are your experiences? More information is good.
If politicians call me, I will not vote for them. There are exceptions to every rule, but they shouldn't take a chance if they want my vote.
What sort of inconsiderate person thinks that I am going to drop whatever I am doing to answer or listen to a call? If politicians are willing to do that to me, what are they willing to do when they get into the office?
I have had six calls in one day alone. Six votes were lost. I hope I have someone left to vote for by the time the election arrives.

Re: "Texas sues EPA -- State attacks 'tainted' greenhouse gas data that may lead to new limits," Wednesday news story.
I just don't get it. The state of Texas spews out one-third of the greenhouse gases emitted by the entire U.S., many of our rivers are so polluted that we are warned not to eat the fish from them, there are numerous documented pollution "hot spots" where people are sick and dying at alarming rates and there are huge brown toxic clouds hanging over the entire Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas.
Gov. Rick Perry and his lobbying business cohorts would have us believe that all of the above is all in our paranoid minds and that there is a conspiracy among the majority of scientists who want to "violate freedom of information laws, exclude scientific research and manipulate temperature data."
What do all of these numerous and highly educated scientists have to gain from so-called distortions of the truth?
We all know what Perry and his lobbyist business associates have to gain.
And although it is the correct color -- green -- I do not believe they have the best interests of the people of Texas at heart.

Re: "Did game pay off for area?" by Michael Greenberg, Wednesday Letters.
Greenberg's assertions on the economic impact of the NBA All-Star game, citing the unfortunates who were crowded out of their favorite restaurants, are ill-conceived at best, inaccurate at worst.
He was referring to the upper crust restaurants, the ones that require a reservation. These are abundant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I hope he included the enormous increase in airfare, taxi fare, limo fare, tip fare to limo, taxi and waiter.
I almost forgot the hotel, motel and convenience store industry.
One might even almost hope that charities in our fair part of the world received a tad bit more in their coffers.

Re: "Bogus gear is seized -- Raid nets $200,000 worth of sports items, many substandard," Tuesday news story.
A total of $200,000 worth of unlicensed merchandise was seized by agencies of Homeland Security during the NBA All-Star weekend.
I feel so much safer now knowing that Homeland Security is hard at work protecting us from such dangers.

Re: "Stimulus lifts Dallas-area transit plans -- Downtown-Oak Cliff streetcar, NTTA to get federal grants," Thursday news story.
For the past three months, Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison have railed against the stimulus plan in print, in appearances and in TV ads.
Now the city of Dallas and the North Texas area gets stimulus funds for a much-desired trolley system in Oak Cliff and a big contribution to the DFW Connector project.
I wonder just who is really looking after the needs of North Texas?