O'ahu's registered voters have an opportunity now through April 16 to participate in government at its most grass-roots level.

Voting has begun for 444 neighborhood board seats, unpaid, two-year positions. This year, 505 candidates are running and just 306 seats are contested.

If like many people today you despair of the level of civic participation in our society, the neighborhood board election offers you one way of doing something about it.

Neighborhood boards were created 35 years ago by the City Charter Commission as a way for individual citizens to be heard effectively.

And despite their flaws, O'ahu's neighborhood boards still have the potential to encourage both investment and ownership in each community — but that can only happen if citizens step up and invest themselves in the process.

Your first step can be to vote — by mail or online. Your next step can be to attend your own neighborhood board meetings. If you have school-age children, take them with you so they can learn the importance of civic participation.

It's a way for all of our voices to be heard, and to urge elected officials to be aware of our concerns.

Revitalizing the neighborhood board system could be one step toward a better sense of connectedness between citizens and elected officials.

After all, good government isn't just the purview of those elected to office, it's the responsibility of each of us, too.