Filing for the April 8 election to fill municipal and school board seats will begin Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Voters will have to make some very important choices in the April 8 election to fill the mayoral posts in Crestwood and Sunset Hills, aldermanic seats in Green Park and Sunset Hills, four seats on the Lindbergh Board of Education and three seats on the Mehlville Board of Education.

In Crestwood, the mayoral seat held by Jeff Schlink is up for election. The seat carries a three-year term.

In Green Park, aldermanic seats held by Carol Hamilton of Ward 1, Jackie Wilson of Ward 2 and board President Fred Baras of Ward 3 will be up for election. The seats carry two-year terms.

In Sunset Hills, the mayoral seat held by Bill Nolan is up for election.

Also up for election are aldermanic seats held by Richard Gau of Ward 1, Thomas Musich of Ward 2, Kurt Krueger of Ward 3 and Art Havener of Ward 4.

In addition, the city collector’s position held by Michael Sawicki is up for election. All of the Sunset Hills seats have two-year terms.

For the Lindbergh Board of Education, seats held by board President Kathleen Kienstra, board Vice President Don Bee and board members Vicki Englund and Mark Rudoff are up for election.

The seats held by Kienstra, Bee and Englund carry three-year terms.

The seat held by Rudoff, who was appointed to the board when former President Vic Lenz resigned to accept a seat on the Missouri Board of Education, has a two-year term.

Candidates who file must specify whether they are seeking a three-year term or a two-year term.

For the Mehlville Board of Education, seats held by board President Mark Stoner, board Secretary Rich Franz and board member Elaine Powers are up for election. The seats carry three-year terms.

As we’ve written many times before, democracy requires participation to be successful. Without citizen participation as candidates and voters, democracy will slowly wither.

It doesn’t take much to complain about our elected officials and their actions — or lack thereof — but it takes some real gumption to throw your hat in the ring and attempt to be part of the solution.

Perhaps Thomas Jefferson said it best: “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”