I was just talking to one of my colleagues on the sports desk about the mayoral race in York. He said there didn't seem to be a lot of campaigning, and he wondered if he'd missed it.
He hadn't.
Kim Bracey, the Democratic candidate, is virtually assured of a win. Independent Steven Young is running as a write-in, which is always a long shot under the best of circumstances. And Republican Wendell Banks, frankly, isn't a viable candidate. His big campaign platform is bringing an NFL team to York. And he's been making himself scarce in recent months, when a serious candidate would have been campaigning hard.
The big race really happened in May, when Bracey bested Genevieve Ray -- a serious challenge -- in the primary.
That's frequently the case in places such as York, where one party holds a commanding registration lead. In York's case, it's the Democrats. And it's equally true in the largely Republican districts outside the city. The real race happens in the primary.
Think about the difficulty of finding candidates to run in districts where their party is a distinct minority. A full-fledged campaign is basically a full-time job for which you get paid nothing. It's not just a matter of persuading people to vote for you, either. Getting the petition signatures necessary to appear on the ballot in the first place can be a Herculean job.
So what do you get in return for all that effort? In all likelihood, you get your butt handed to you on election night.
My colleague on the sports desk said it's a shame that it works that way. I agree.
Interestingly enough, Ms. Bracey said something similar to me earlier tonight. I stopped by the polling place at the YMCA in downtown York, where she was hanging around to talk to voters.
She said she wished that Mr. Banks had run a more vigorous campaign, simply because it would have given her more of an opportunity to talk to Yorkers about her plans for the city.
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