Five Reasons Why the MSM Should Cover the District 4 Race

Like many of you, I am mystified about why the mainstream media (MSM) is virtually ignoring the District 4 special election. As I understand that many representatives from the MSM read this blog, I’d like to offer my pitch for why this race is worth covering.

1. A compelling list of candidates
The four declared Democratic candidates are all archetypal Montgomery politicians. Ben Kramer is a businessman who comes from one of the county’s great political families. Nancy Navarro grew up in Venezuela, worked her way up from the PTAs to the School Board and enjoys a broad base of support in the labor, business, immigrant and progressive communities. Cary Lamari is a classic civic activist who has been a pugnacious political player for more than a decade. And Chris Paladino is a fresh face with good experience in the non-profit and business worlds. How could it be any better than this?

2. A wild race
Kramer, Navarro and Paladino will all have the monetary resources necessary to compete and Lamari should be able to put together a good volunteer base. That will give every candidate (and their supporters) enough ammo to go after each other, a fight that has already started on this blog. Throw in the shenanigans at the Board of Elections and this race could be wilder than the last one.

3. Balance of power on County Council
With Mr. Praisner’s passing, the council has returned to an informal 4-4 split. The District 4 winner will break the tie just as the council is heading into its 2009 Annual Growth Policy review.

4. Testing ground for 2010
Which issue will matter most in the special election? Growth? Traffic? Developer contributions? Jobs? Education? Rightly or wrongly, the course of this contest will be seen as a preview for the county elections in 2010.

5. It’s yer frickin job!
Come on now, I’m an MSM reader just like everybody else here. Unlike me, you MSM reporters are actually paid for your work. Is it too much to ask to get some backup on our reporting? Please? Pretty please?

OK readers, let’s see if there will be any MSM articles on District 4 this week.