The other guy

You would never know it from cruising around town or even from reading the papers, but the Congressional seat representing New Jersey's District 9 (which includes Teaneck and 37 other municipalities across three counties) is actually being contested. Five-term Democratic Congressman Steve Rothman is facing an election challenge from Vince Micco, a veteran of the current campaign in Iraq who resides in Rutherford.

While it is never easy running for office against an established incumbent, Micco's slim chances of prevailing are not helped by the fact that a Republican has not represented the Ninth District since Harold C. Hollenbeck was unseated by the infamous Robert Torricelli in 1982. Rep. Rothman has kept a firm grip on his job since replacing Torricelli when he moved to the Senate. He has garnered at least 67.5% of the vote in each of the last three elections, handily defeating all challengers.

Despite the fact that the district seems to embrace Rothman's left of center ideology and voting record, Micco leaves no doubt that he falls at the polar opposite end of the political spectrum. While Rothman earns low grades from the anti-immigration lobby, anti-abortion groups, and taxpayer groups while winning plaudits from environmental activists, the National Education Association, and arts organizations, Micco has staked out positions that are likely to result in the opposite evaluations. Credit to him for upholding his convictions, but his prospects for victory are not likely to be improved through any public consideration of the issues.

The consequence of this electoral mismatch is that the Ninth District will fail to place Congressman Rothman's record under any real scrutiny and Rothman will be returned to office once again in a laugher. It may be that Congressman Rothman's positions accurately represent the will of his constituents and that his record of achievements for the district is a good one. But the voters are not well served when they do not have a chance to verify it. Here's hoping that a credible candidate will emerge at some point and prevent complacency from setting in. Democracy functions best with vigorous debate and healthy competition.