‘Tis the season not only for Christmas trees and year-end celebrations but for Oregon’s gubernatorial candidates to shift into high gear in anticipation of the 2022 election.

First off, we want to wish all of the candidates the best. At last count, 28 candidates were in the running for the Democratic or Republican nominations, and a handful of others were in the wings. Add the independents and third-party candidates, and Oregonians will have plenty to choose from in the November general election.

Running for governor is a grueling and sometimes demeaning undertaking in which candidates are often marketed like boxes of cereal. Armed with the latest polls and piles of donations, they ply their trade with one goal in mind — getting Oregonians to vote for them.

Many of them seem to be saying, “Be reasonable, and see it my way.”

Others seem to be quoting a character in the movie “Napoleon Dynamite,” who promised during a student council election, “Vote for me and all of your dreams will come true.”

But that’s all backwards. Candidates need to reflect Oregonians’ views, not the other way around.

Only then will the state’s voters get a governor worthy of their support.

We have a suggestion for the candidates. Instead of presenting voters will pre-packaged platforms, why not go where Oregonians live? And listen, really listen.

Those of us who live in rural parts of the state — the vast majority of Oregon’s 98,466 square miles — know what it’s like to be ignored or, almost as bad, patronized.

A candidate from Portland — whose area is a puny 145 square miles — or some other city will often do a drive-by “appearance” in rural Oregon aimed at getting some attention in the press and then head for the next stop.

But in the process what do they learn about rural Oregon? Do they understand the stress and hardship laws written for urban areas can have on the rural residents and their economy? If they do, what have they done about it?

Do they know the difference between throwing money at a problem and solving it?

And in this era of COVID, what, specifically, would they have done differently if they were governor? Should tiny Burns be subjected to the same regulations as Portland?

The answers to those and other questions should not come from bullet points from a canned speech but from serious discussions of the issues with working rural Oregonians.

We’re not just talking about meeting with the local bigwigs. We’re talking about the folks who farm and ranch, who work at dairies and nurseries or who punch a time clock at a factory or processing plant.

The squeaky wheels in Portland and the rest of urban Oregon get plenty of attention. It’s time for the politicians to listen to the drive wheels that make this state’s economy go.