ACHTUNG: The following is a not a “fair and balanced” story. It is an editorial by the editor.

I went to the Allegan County Clerk’s web site Tuesday at 4 p.m., the filing deadline for candidates running in the Aug. 7 primary election. Imagine my disappointment to find no information about who was running for county commission, state legislator, state senator, governor or attorney general.

I was provided subsequent immediate relief on the state contests by heading for the Michigan.gov site. But I still didn’t get any election information about county contests on the Allegan County Clerk’s site.

I noticed a statement on the home page:

“The Allegan County Clerk’s Office has three major functions: to manage County elections; to manage vital County records; and to process and maintain all Circuit Court files.”

It seems to me that one of the most important functions in managing elections is to provide proper information about who filed for office as soon as possible after the deadline. It can be very important because some candidates have only three days afterward, during which time which they can withdraw from the race.

Some candidates might back out if they see someone they like or respect already in the race. Without knowing who filed, they are not provided that information.

The candidates must file with the clerk’s office, either by paying a $100 fee or by submitting a certain minimum number of petition signatures. So why can’t the clerk’s offices tell the public soon afterward who the candidates will be?

As much as I excoriate rookie Allegan County Clerk Bob Genetski, he is not alone in committing this crime against the public. He failed to let the public know who filed for county offices, but the clerks in neighboring Barry and Ottawa counties also were at fault.

The last time I looked, which was this weekend, I still did not see any information about who filed on the clerk sites for Allegan, Barry and Ottawa counties, more than four days past the filing deadline. It has been my personal belief that clerk’s offices serve the public by readily making information available. They failed.

I finally was able to collect and publish information about who filed through other sources, but this shouldn’t have happened.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the Kent County Clerk’s web site, which dutifully reported all the races in Kent County and in the State of Michigan. Like Genetski, the clerk there is a rookie and a former state legislator.

I never thought I would catch myself saying this, but I must thank Lisa Posthumus Lyons for properly doing her job and respecting the wishes of the public for information in a timely manner.