After the first week of the candidate filing period, nearly every local public office up for election this year has at least one candidate seeking it.

Several posts already are contested, including the Rocky Mount Ward 1 council seat, the Nash County Board of Commissioners District 4 seat, the Tarboro Ward 6 council seat and the N.C. House District 23 seat.

Among the more contested races already set for the coming year are the Rocky Mount Ward 1 race between Councilman Andre Knight and former Rocky Mount Police Chief John Manley and the Nash County District 4 race between Commissioner Danny Tyson and Bert Daniel.

The District 4 race likely will be closely watched, as its outcome could affect the county’s plans for a proposed Sanderson Farms chicken processing plant. Daniel is co-chairman of the Nash County Landowners Association, which is leading the fight against the plant, while Tyson has said he would support the plant coming to Nash County.

Elections officials said candidate filings so far have been higher than usual than in past years. The filing period runs until noon on Feb. 29, which means there’s still plenty of time for more political hopefuls to throw their hats into the ring and produce more contested races.

That bodes well for local democracy and the community at large. The more candidates that step up to seek public office, the broader the debate and the greater the diversity of candidates becomes. Voters are offered more choices and more to think about before they cast their ballots.

The increase in the number of people seeking public office also reflects well on those who seek to enter or remain in public service. Running for elected office is a difficult, time-consuming and often thankless effort.

We all benefit from increased participation in the local election process.