Where are all the local Democrats?

Looking at the people we choose to represent us on a state level, one could be forgiven for thinking Democrats are extinct in the Valley.

In the red-blue divide, our delegation is bright, fire-engine red. But left-leaning voters and politicians are out here. We’ve met quite a few.

The Democrats haven’t done much so far this year to improve their visibility. Four of the six races for seats representing pieces of the Mat-Su Borough will end with the August Republican Primary. The victors in those races will not face any Democrat in the general election.

The only two Democrats to step forward this year, according to the Alaska Division of Elections website are:

• Bonnie Nelson of Chugiak, who is challenging Bill Stoltze for his seat. Stoltze is often said to represent Chugiak, but the district includes Butte.

• Bert Cottle, mayor of Valdez, who is running in the incumbent-less race for District 12, generally referred to as the Valdez seat that also includes Chickaloon.

Republicans aren’t exactly blameless here. Rep. Wes Keller, who holds the Wasilla seat, and both Valley senators up for re-election — Charlie Huggins, who represents Wasilla, and John Coghill Jr., who holds the seat encompassing that Valdez district — will skate through unopposed. Not even another Republican raised a hand to challenge them.

We’re hard-pressed to remember an election for the state Legislature that seemed less inspired than this one. But what seems most shocking is that lack of Democrats.

Where are they?

In the 2008 election, Democrats didn’t let one Valley seat go unchallenged. Some of the candidates were better than others. One, Erick Cordero, who challenged Linda Menard for a Senate seat, is still a fixture of Valley politics, serving as an outspoken member of the Mat-Su Borough School Board.

One thing we noticed in talking to candidates then was that most of them were realistic about their chances. Not a single one of them prevailed and many knew they wouldn’t going in.

But there was something else driving them; a desire to challenge elected officials on their records and for an honest debate and airing of differing views in public forums.

Where is that desire now?

It’s something we would like to see more of. Debate is healthy for incumbents. It forces them to justify what they believe and burns away any malformed or poorly considered arguments.

Even long-shot Democrats have a role to play in keeping our legislators honest.

There is another question to ask here — what if one of these Republican candidates makes it through the primary but winds up, for whatever reason, dropping out?

The Valley would not go without representation. There are fail-safes built into the system to take care of this sort of thing. But if the Mat-Su is as red as some would like us to think, maybe an unexpected opening like that is a Democrat’s only route to the Legislature. Why would they pass that up?