EDITORIAL

Maybe it’s just a curse on politics, or maybe good citizens have just

lost their thirst for the political arena.

But when you have the unexciting likes of George W. Bush and Al Gore

being chosen as their party’s finalists for the highest office in the

land, then we suppose it’s a little much to expect local politics to be

any more exciting.

Still, we wonder, where have all the candidates gone?

With all due respect to those who have thrown their hats in the ring

for local political seats in November, pardon us if we just aren’t real

thrilled so far.

It’s not that the current choices are bad, it’s just that there aren’t

enough to choose from -- especially in the school races.

For the Huntington Beach City School District Board of Trustees,

neither one of the incumbents, Catherine McGough and Brian Rechsteiner,

has an opponent to run against. The same goes for the Fountain Valley

School District. Julie Hoxsie and Joanne Lew are running unopposed.

And nobody really seems to be surprised. As a matter of fact, they are

already celebrating.

In Huntington Beach, this is the first time in about 20 years that

this has happened, and officials there are saying it’s a positive sign of

the confidence the community has in its board of trustees.

In other words, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it?

In Fountain Valley, a lack of school board candidates is more

commonplace. This is the second time since 1996 that this race has gone

unopposed.

These elections will also save the districts some money -- funds they

may be able to toward educating children. In Huntington Beach, about

$4,000 will be saved by not holding an election, and in Fountain Valley,

the cost-saving is about $1,800.

But we miss having a political landscape featuring diverse viewpoints.

Although we didn’t always agree with every idea, we appreciated that

the debate at least fostered a healthy political environment that is

sorely lacking today.

While everyone is so quick to criticize politicians, any hope of an

open and honest debate evaporates if there are no quality candidates.