On Monday, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown participated in a roundtable discussion with area leaders on various social issues.

The topics ranged from education to health care to economic development.

Last week, Republican State Sen. John Carey had a public meeting in Chesapeake and heard concerns from constituents. The various changes in election law were among the items discussed there.

Meetings such as these are important for Lawrence Countians and for the representatives. They not only give local people access to the representatives, but it gives those lawmakers an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the very specific issues that affect us locally.

Beyond that, these elected officials can reap the benefit of good public relations by letting local voters know they have an interest in the problems they face. Their presence, and willingness to advocate for us, shows that they have taken the time and made an effort to do what they were elected to do.

In some measure, there should be a sense of entitlement that elected representatives should do this regularly. But time constraints make such appearances difficult to maintain time and again.

So voters should recognize these types of efforts, and the actions that follow. Hopefully, the information that is exchanged can benefit everyone and provide the representatives with information that can be helpful in making sure our interests are taken into consideration in Columbus and Washington.

Good representation cannot be accomplished unless lawmakers are informed about the practical issues we face. With these forums, Brown and Carey, and others, have shown they are willing to understand our problems and do something about them.