Election endorsements are a staple in most newspapers, even yet today with the constantly changing face of the print media.

But selecting the races to endorse takes quite bit of strategy and planning because scheduling the interviews of candidates is often a challenge and sometimes can be a logistical nightmare.

There are just not enough hours in the day to accommodate all of the candidates and representatives of various groups seeking approval or opposing millage issues.

So, for the primary, we don’t plan to endorse in every election race. It would be impossible. Because of the volume of candidates, we have to be very selective.

Generally, our policy for the primary is a wait and see one. We will examine the results of the primary election and then decide which races appear to be the most competitive or prominent on the November ballot. Most likely we will be endorsing in the governor’s race and Congressional races. But outside of those contests, we’ll have to see what happens on Aug. 3.

There is one primary race that looks pretty interesting, even though it’s for a position that usually isn’t high profile. The race for an Oakland County probate judge seat has five contenders. Based on the high level of competition and some requests from readers, we will be interviewing all five candidates in July and write an endorsement editorial for the end of the month.

Although you don’t see a lot of advertising and campaign adds by probate court prospects, the duties of the judge are critical and affect most of us, in one way or another at one time or another.

Among many other things, probate court may over see your estate or the estate of a loved one who is recently deceased. It also becomes involved when in determining guardianships for children as well as care for adults who don’t have the capacity to fend for themselves.

The five candidates are J. Martin Brennan, Rochester Hills; Dana Margaret Hathaway and Barbara B. Murphy, both of Birmingham; Kathleen Ryan of Bloomfield Township; and Jamie Marie Verdi of Rochester.

There are a number of millage votes that probably will get our scrutiny and a thumbs up or thumbs down after we’ve studied the issues.

They include SMART, the suburban bus system, which is seeking a 0.59-mill property tax renewal to fund suburban bus service in the participating communities called “opt-ins.” Only communities that opt in to local bus service pay the property tax in Oakland County. Wayne County also has an opt-in system for its communities while Macomb County’s is county-wide.

The opt-in communities are Auburn Hills, Berkley, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Clawson, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Franklin, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Pontiac, Royal Oak, Royal Oak Township, Southfield, Troy, Walled Lake and West Bloomfield.

Oakland County Parks is seeking a 0.2415-mill property tax renewal for 10 years to pay for operating its network of parks and golf courses around the county.

Also, Oakland Community College is seeking a 0.8-mill property tax renewal for 10 years, beginning in 2012.

The endorsement process can be complicated but it’s also important because many people rely on us to offer some guidance or at least make suggestions that they can agree with or reject.