The voters spoke pretty clearly on all candidates Tuesday, electing some to office and sending others to run-offs or the general election on Nov. 2.

We congratulate all the winners and wish them success in their coming terms at the city of Kissimmee and on the Osceola County School Board. For candidates moving on to the general election or for those who are going there directly because they didn’t have a primary battle, we urge them to run issue-oriented campaigns based on facts and actual voting records. We are tired of the half-truths, statements taken out of context or attacks on candidates’ family members. Negative campaigning doesn’t help voters make informed decisions at the polls. We’re also tired of the negativity of third-party fliers.

For David Stone, who lost his Osceola County School Board re-election bid to political newcomer Barbara Horn, we offer our thanks for the years of service to our children and our School District. And to Horn, we say welcome aboard.

For Jay Wheeler, who defeated political newcomer Nancy Gemskie to retain his School Board seat, we say good luck on the next four years. Wheeler, though, still has to work through official complaints filed against him relating to campaign spending and an ethics breach (putting political advertising on school property). We will be watching the outcome of these complaints closely.

John McKay, School Board president, will face a tough run-off challenge from community activist Tom Long, the person who filed the complaints against Wheeler. Long garnered 15 more votes than McKay in the primary, pointing to a fierce race to the Nov. 2 finish line.

In Kissimmee, we welcome back Cheryl Grieb to the City Commission and look forward to an issue-oriented campaign between Jeanne Van Meter, a former city commissioner, and political newcomer Wanda Rentas.

City of Kissimmee voters also sent a clear message that they want “In God We Trust” added to the official city motto and that the City Commission not have the authority to waive a requirement that the city manager live in Kissimmee.

As to the 14.1 percent voter turnout Tuesday, it certainly could have been better. We expect the turnout for the Nov. 2 election will be much improved considering that the 39,568 county voters registered as either “non-partisan” or “other” get to weigh-in on hotly contested races and there will be various amendments to the Florida Constitution to be considered.