If voters delivered a message in last week's primary election, it's that primary elections don't mean much to them. In a race to see who would advance in two city council contests, only 1,695 voters went to the polls on Tuesday -- a number that translated to 11.8 percent of registered voters in Grantsville and an anemic 6.2 percent of registered voters in Tooele.

The primary cost a considerable sum to stage and involved numerous volunteers manning the polls -- many of whom had ample time to catch up on their reading. In the end, only three out of a field of 15 candidates were eliminated. The remaining 12 -- six in each city -- will vie for three open seats on each city council in the general election on Nov. 2.

The fact that most of the candidates would be advancing anyway could have been one reason for the low turnout. Another reason may have been that voters simply don't get as excited about a primary involving city council races as they do about one involving a mayoral race. Most likely, it was a mixture of those reasons, plus a heavy dose of general apathy, that accounted for the weak showing.

In any case, let's hope the primary election was not a harbinger of the general election, because too much is on the line for all of us to have the race decided by a relative handful of voters. Tooele Valley is growing rapidly with an influx of new residents and developments, leaving local government facing some very pressing questions regarding everything from upgrading infrastructure to providing adequate services and citizen protections. The candidates who will become city council members for the valley's two largest municipalities will certainly play a vital role in shaping and directing the affairs of the entire valley.

Now is the time to get serious about the upcoming election. Candidates need to make their positions widely known, and voters need to take time to investigate what the candidates stand for. Too much is at stake to let apathy rule the day next Nov. 2.