Are You Ready For Some Football . . . And Local Elections?

On Sunday, peewee football season started here in the Lehigh Valley. Hundreds of screaming parents cheered and booed as the Nazareth Clippers took Allentown's East Side Huskies to the doghouse, 6 - 0, in the ferocious 90 pound division. Coaches moaned, but the kids loved and were perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the $1.7 million artificial playing surface at Andrew S. Leh stadium.

Both The Express Times and Morning Call have set aside separate sections of their papers for the many interesting stories that come from high school sports. I love it. That kind of attention, so long as it's positive, helps keep kids away from the dark side.

In addition to fall sports, another interesting season kicks off with Labor Day- election season. From now until November 6, municipal candidates with mostly small war chests will try their best to deliver their message to voters. But unlike high school football, local papers sound no trumpets to announce the start of these campaigns. Not even a kazoo.

And that's a mistake.

Many people who subscribe to the print media do so for local news. Thus, the decision to refuse to cover local races is more than a disservice to our democratic form of government. It's also bad business. Newspapers that have remained intensely local have actually experienced increased circulation during a time in which people are reading less.

Candidates usually get one article when they announce and another to sum up a campaign. In many small races, that's enough. But when the mud starts flying or there are many issues, the press hides. And this really hurts a challenger. Morning Call columnist Bill White acknowledges this himself. "[I]t has to be frustrating to keep trying and trying to get your message out -- in the back rooms of diners, in quiet hotel meeting rooms, on busy street corners -- knowing that in many cases, almost no one will show up, and no one will hear about it."

Limited manpower and space are often cited as reasons for this scant coverage. But I know many local reporters, and their knowledge of the candidates and their issues is always surprisingly detailed.

Between last May's primary and now, both local papers are trying something new. They've established placeblogs. Local reporters should be able, for the first time, to give detailed attention to municipal races. This should both increase interest in the print media and educate us about our leaders. It will be nice if we finally can get this information from the pros.

But rest assured, the least trusted news source of all - citizen blogs - will also be spouting off. This certainly includes yours truly. Norco Dem Chair Joe Long, in a recent letter to the county exec, called me a "a blogger who has no credibility in this county." I even get parking tickets. I probably should be taken out and buried up to my head in a brownfield.

Here's where you can find some interesting coverage of local races:

Allentown - Queen City Daily (Morning Call blog), Molovinsky on Allentown (former Allentown mayoral candidate and businessman), Our West End Neighborhood (a good Allentown apologist), Look Out Lehigh Valley (her essays really get to me), Schweyer for Council (campaign blog of city council candidate Pete Schweyer).

Bethlehem - Bedlam in Bethlehem (Express Times), Bethlehem Daily Star (Morning Call), Down and Out in Bethlehem (good analysis of Bethlehem city council), Bethlehem Blog Times (former Globe Times reporter Joan Campion has sadly been inactive since March), Bethlehem Regurgitator (the platform of 16 year-old peace activist Peter Christine).

Easton - Two Rivers Daily (Morning Call), the often hilarious Jim Deegan (Express Times), Easton Undressed (promotes open and accountable government).

Nazareth - News Over Coffee (covers Nazareth School District municipalities).

Forks - Forks Action Committee ("an ad hoc watchdog and political action group composed of Forks Township residents whose aims are to promote quality candidates for township office(s) and to inform Forks residents of current issues"), Forks Residents Who Care ("a public service tool that enables us to share relevant information and opinion," but doesn't allow comment).

Northern Lehigh County - Northern Lehigh Valley Logic (penned by a "a lying politician, the reason for the medical malpractice crisis, defender of the guilty, an Auslander. I seek to pollute cornfields and rivers. I will dump sewer straight into the ground. I am a slimy slanderer. I have no business speaking or writing. I will line my pockets with your tax-dollars and dole out public jobs to my friends and family.") Sounds like my kind of guy!

Lehigh Valley - First, let me tell you about the mainstream blogs covering the Lehigh Valley. This summer, Bill White has been "trying to attract more teenage boys to the site" with posts like "Hot Lesbians." And Jedi Joe Owens has battled Imperial stormtroopers in Upper Nazareth Township over - well - street lights. But it won't be long before White's Eye of Mordor focuses its withering gaze on some hapless Lehigh Valley pol. And now that Owens' Express Times baseball team has been humiliated for a second year straight by a bunch of dweebs, he's already complaining about the foul balls on the Bethlehem school board. "The education mafia strikes again. It's a racket -- union, administration and elected officials, all hand-in-hand, skipping down the yellow brick road, winking at taxpayers and nudging one another in thanks."

In addition to these enjoyable mainstream blogs, LVPoliblog will certainly have a few things to say, especially for contested races in Lehigh County. I'm sure Dear Maddy will be busy answering lots of letters. We'll also be getting the usual informative posts from Blue Coyote (very wily), AJ's Web Blog (trained journalist), and GreenDog (political strategist).

I'll focus on Northampton County Council, Northampton County Controller, Easton City Council, Easton Mayor, Easton and Nazareth Magistrate and appellate court races. And although he's trying to slip between the cracks, the retention campaign of Northampton County Judge Steve Baratta will also be featured. Some candidates have already agreed to interviews. I won't pretend to be objective, but will try to be fair.

And if you get fed up, there's always football. And a burgeoning number of nonpolitical local blogs. I'll tell you about them another time.