Centerfield

We Could Use More Unaffiliated Pols Like This

Multi-Tasker Maj. McNamara is setting the bar a lot higher for the rest of us, IMO.

-- While Maj. Mike McNamara was in Iraq, his family handled much of his city council campaign for him: They handed out fliers, held a campaign rally and put up signs around town.

Meanwhile, he answered voters' questions from Falluja by e-mail.

The strategy paid off this week when the Marine reservist won a seat on the Grand Forks City Council. McNamara, 48, beat four other candidates with 49 percent of the vote in the city's second ward, despite serving thousands of miles away.

If this guy were a Republican or a Democrat he'd be getting trumpeted from shore to shore by his own party, and the other party would be hunting for dirt.