Government of the People, by the People . . . Without the People

In the annals of our long, depressing slide into dormant democracy, this is a story I would not have predicted, even in hyper-political Takoma Park, the lefty enclave in suburban Maryland that dives merrily into almost every divisive issue to come down the pike: They're holding an election this fall and hardly anybody bothered to run against the incumbents.

When the deadline for filing to run for mayor or City Council passed, only one person in the entire town of 17,000 souls stepped forward to mount a challenge. The mayor and five of the six ward council members will be elected in uncontested votes.

The lack of choice in congressional and local elections has been a problem in many parts of the country, and especially in Virginia's legislature, where, two years ago, 50 of the 100 House of Delegates seats were filled in uncontested elections.

But I wouldn't have expected to see dormant democracy becoming a problem in Takoma Park, where the desire to take strong stands is somehow infused in the water. After all, this is the town that famously declared itself a nuclear-free zone many years ago and has regularly found other ways to confront the nation with its political messages. This summer, the City Council voted unanimously to support impeaching President Bush and Vice President Cheney. This is a place where, if I'm counting correctly, there are more political blogs and papers per square foot than any other spot in Maryland. (It also sports one of the most-aptly named political blogs in the region: Granola Park.)

So, why the dormancy? Is it because Takoma Park residents are thrilled beyond words with their representatives? True, crime is down 10 percent. And there are some excellent people on the council.

But there's no shortage of local controversies; Takoma residents are divided on the intercounty connector, Silver Spring development, the future and possible path of Metro's Purple Line, whether proposed development around the Takoma Metro station is too car-oriented or too dense, and smaller stuff, too, such as cost overruns on a community center project.

An irony here involves Takoma Park's decision to become the first jurisdiction in the Washington area to adopt instant runoff voting, in which voters don't just choose a winner but also rank candidates so that their second and third choices can be counted if no one wins a majority of votes. But when the system was first used in a special election this year, the instant runoff option didn't kick in because the winner won a majority. This fall, again, the newfangled system will lie dormant -- runoffs can only happen if there are three or more candidates for a position.

The only contested race in next week's election pits Bridget Bowers against Dan Robinson for the one open seat on the council (Ward 3 council member Bruce Williams will move up to mayor, unopposed.) In a classic case of Takoma Park comity, the opponents are jointly sponsoring a Listserv where residents can discuss the campaign.

Such admirable cooperation. Now, how about a little competition?