While we've been focusing on the upcoming Portland City Council elections -- and the grotesque sideshow of who's cheating whom with their "clean money" -- a couple of other local elections are drawing near with nary a peep out of the blogosphere.

Over at Metro (the folks who are about to hand you the Convention Center Hotel), as usual nobody gives much of a darn, and the Network Formerly Known as Goldschmidt will still have their hands in everyone's wallet, extracting cash for the Hoffman Construction set. So far, three incumbents are running unopposed, and a fourth has a single political unknown as an opponent. Given that within a few years these folks may be taking over all the bridges and Tri-Met, you'd think there'd be more interest in these positions, but no. Joe Taxpayer remains fast asleep, just the way the Old Boys want it, and there are smiles all around over the shrimp cocktails at the Arlington Club.

Nearby, three Multnomah County Commission seats are up for grabs, as the last two of the Mean Girls head off to Pilates, and Uncle Fester gets to spends more time with the Golf Channel. Unlike the snoozefest at Metro, there are quite a few folks popping up to vie for these offices. Maybe they want a good seat on the tour boat when the Sellwood Bridge comes down.

In District 1, which was Maria Rojo de Steffey's seat, the candidates so far are Deborah Kafoury, Wes Soderback (right), and Mark Newey. I am so relieved. After several years of aching and longing, Portlanders will once again have someone named Kafoury to vote for. It's God's way.

In District 3, formerly represented by Lisa Naito (whose dedication persisted even after she wound up living somewhere else), we have Rob Milesnick, Judy Shiprack, Mike Delman, Roy Burkett, and Bruce Barclay. What? No Ron McCarty? At least at first glance, you've got to go with Shiprack -- there's a name that fits right in with the current state of county government.

And in District 4, Lonnie Country, the candidates are Gresham Police Chief Carla Piluso, Diane McKeel, and Ken Quinby. But hey, the deadline for filing for county offices is March 11 -- roughly three business weeks away -- and we're thinking someone else could be jumping into that one. If Bernie's not too busy with you-know-who, he may very well want to take a shot at it.