The filing period to run for City Council ended at noon on July 20, and the News & Record immediately picked up where it left off during the 2005 campaign.

The big names get the coverage; the other candidates are out of luck. July 20, 21 and 22 -- each day there was an article highlighting one or more of the big names (those who hold office or have held local office). This amounts to a de facto endorsement of these candidates since these names get ingrained in people's minds through repetition. But as Allen Johnson wrote July 22: "Those of you who are former council members and commissioners aren't necessarily more qualified than newcomers."

Please, News & Record, do your civic duty and report on all the candidates this time around so the voters can decide who the most qualified are. You might list the campaign Web sites of those who have one, so interested voters can check the candidate out thoroughly. Mine is www.JoelLandau.com.

Joel Landau
Greensboro

The writer is an at-large candidate for Greensboro City Council.