And in this corner?

Election Day is Nov. 6, and this year Baton Rougeans are faced with a severe lack of choices in our parish races.

Five Metro Council members were unopposed this election.

There are many groups and individuals working to improve our community, just a handful of whom are featured in this month’s cover story. Yet by and large, Baton Rouge is a city of people who relish complaining about local government but apparently aren’t chaffed enough by it to actually run for office and push for solutions to the problems they proclaim to abhor.

Of course, this is not the first local election with too few challengers to the incumbents. A coalition tried recruiting new talent last year and the year before in an effort to overhaul the East Baton Rouge Parish Public School Board, but that group struggled to find interested takers.

Without passing judgment on those already holding council seats, it is a shame to see so few challengers for these offices. Consider the number of local taxes and fees levied in the parish. Consider the council’s power to make appointments to the BREC board. Local elections have a real impact on our daily lives—potentially even more so than whether Obama or Romney comes out on top.

Challengers, newcomers and political outsiders bring fresh conversations and issues to a campaign, especially at the local level, and Baton Rouge could use a jolt of new leaders and original ideas.

Uncontested races are as boring as politics can get, and as independent candidate for mayor Gordon Mese asked 225 editor Jeff Roedel this summer, “Remember when politics was fun?”

The Garden District Nursery owner is a passionate one-issue candidate pushing for changes to the Unified Development Code and the way it is implemented.

According to polls, neither Mese nor fellow long-shot candidate Steve Myers, a real estate broker, are likely to win—but at least they have stepped into the ring.

If a company wants to hire the best, it needs to make its job openings as attractive as possible. The same goes for these local offices.

Ideally, steps should be taken to make Metro Council posts more desirable in future elections.

Maybe Baton Rouge has grown large enough to make its council seats full-time jobs with competitive pay. Who wants to take a salary cut just to argue with the mayor and field emails about the height of weeds in a neighborhood drainage canal?

No doubt, expanding the council to include at least two at-large seats would attract leaders forced to consider the best interests of the parish, rather than the more myopic whims of one district.

Just as the interests of council members rarely extend beyond their respective district lines, residents tend to mirror the view that parochial self-interest trumps the greater good. In that respect, we do have a representative government.

Looking at cities like Austin and New Orleans—destinations with an enviable pride of place that create an undying loyalty and affection from residents new and old—it is evident that this level of community pride is lacking in Baton Rouge.

Whether it’s the amount of litter on our streets or the number of uncontested elections, a regrettable air of apathy can’t be denied. Baton Rouge has so much promise, but it exists now as a city that care forgot.

Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that Baton Rouge is the city its own residents have forgotten to care about.

If Baton Rougeans treated the entire community like they treat their families, we would all be a lot better off. And just maybe we would have a few more options in the voting booth.