Bob Taylor has six campaign signs in yards around Sharonville, but he doesn't need any. For the nearly three decades that Mr. Taylor or his late wife, Ivy, served on council, they faced competition twice. This year, there's none.

        In contrast, city councilwoman Helen Geraci has had to hit the campaign trail in nearby Norwood every two years since 1986. Norwood has a long history of competitive elections, and this year, all 11 races are contested.

        Most cities, villages and townships in Southwestern Ohio on Nov. 6 will elect the people who make decisions about trash collection, street repairs and zoning laws, issues that directly impact residents' lives. Yet voters in two dozen communities have no choice on the ballot. In some cases, there aren't enough people even to fill the open spots.

        In other communities, two and three candidates are vying for each seat.

        What makes some communities election hotbeds while others can't scrounge even a single candidate?

        One answer: controversy. Nothing stirs election juices like sprawling growth or a town hemorrhaging jobs.

        Consider the high-level interest in Deerfield Township, with seven candidates for two trustee spots, and neighboring Mason, where 12 are competing for four council seats.

        Residents want local government to address traffic congestion, infrastructure and park land development, concerns created by the rapid development and population spikes of the past decade, said Rick Bethel, a Deerfield trustee candidate.

        “People have had enough. They are going to expect and demand better quality service for the taxes they pay,” he said. “Residents are concerned enough to be involved.”

        The loss of at least 800 jobs so far this year in the city of Hamilton spurred Jane Schlichter to take her first stab at public office.

        “I never thought of myself as being political and never saw myself running for office, but the issues at hand directly affect me and my family and whether my children will stay here as adults,” said Mrs. Schlichter, one of 15 candidates for six council seats. “There are a million reasons to stay in Hamilton, but if the jobs are gone, then we're done.”

        Partisan races, such as in Norwood, often drive up involvement, said Richard Foglesong, a politics professor at Rollins College near Orlando, Fla.

        The parties mobilize their voters, he said, and residents have a better sense of the differences between candidates when there's a Republican or Democratic label.

        Ask William Russell, who has spent the better part of three decades in Norwood.

        The Democrats each year put campaign signs on his fence at the corner of Elsmere and Slane avenues, a prime location.

        Last week, he sat on his front porch and explained the differences between the parties.

        Republicans want more devel opment, places like Rookwood Commons, he said. Democrats are committed to preserving the family atmosphere in Norwood.

        People will vote because they “want it to stay a family community,” he said.

        Another factor in participation is diversity, said Phillip Klinkner, government professor of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. Com munities with little economic or racial diversity “tend to have a policy consensus about what governments should do,” he said.

        Whites account for 89 percent of Sharonville's population of 13,804. The city has few controversies, little room for new development and is financially sound, said Mr. Taylor, a councilman.

        “People are relatively pleased,” he said. Still, he admits the lack of competition confounds him. Low numbers of candidates may not necessarily translate into community apathy, Dr. Foglesong said. “It might just indicate that people are in basic agreement about what government should do.”

        The village of Harveysburg in northern Warren County has only three people on the ballot for four open seats. Jerry Johns, who has lived there for 30 years, isn't surprised.

        “Politics is a pretty rough racket, especially in a small town,” he said. “These people have to work hard all day and then when they get home, their phone's ringing off the hook and somebody's dog is chasing somebody and there's a pothole on Main Street.”

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