“The Leadership Dialogues is a six-month series of editorial board conversations with community leaders. The purpose is to identify the qualities of leadership – in the hope the dialogues will encourage high-quality candidates to step forward and run for elected office – and allow the community at-large to recognize and respond to positive leadership traits. The dialogues include people who exercise leadership in other arenas, such as sports and the arts, but the characteristics they describe apply to political leadership, too.

“On the Web: The complete transcripts of the monthly dialogues, along with Colin Mulvany videos of the leaders interviewed, is available at www.spokesmanreview.com/sections/leadership.

“Schedule: Today – Mary Selecky, secretary of the Washington State Department of Health; March 11 — Gary Livingston, chancellor of Community Colleges of Spokane; April 8 — King County Executive Ron Sims; May 13 — Linda Sheridan, retired Shadle Park High School coach; June 10 — Tony Stewart, North Idaho human rights activist; Aug. 12 — Eckart Preu, music director of the Spokane Symphony.