One of the most-read features of this newspaper is, without a doubt, the less than one-year-old Two Cents column that is often the first thing readers turn to and one that is also clicked on immediately by those who access this newspaper online.

It is also the one feature of this newspaper that, without exaggeration, is hated by most office holders and bureaucrats in this community. Two Cents also has the power to impact this year's local elections more than any other single factor.

Privately, those who head local government departments, both in the city and county, will tell you that they don't like this feature. It is not so much that they fear that if they do something wrong they will be criticized; they know they will, but that there are those who have used the Two Cents to sow seeds of doubt about government in general, making it harder for them to create cooperation and get things done. They charge that what they believe are under-regulated postings allows those who want to throw bombs to do so with impunity and not be held responsible for what they post. While there are some, most notably perennial candidate Jerry Morgan, who have the guts to post comments in the separate “Citizens' Say” feature online with their names, almost no others do.

Yet the real concern for many is what effect Two Cents and Citizens' Say will have on local elections this year. Last fall's elections were just ending when these forums started to take hold. One aspect of this newspaper's Citizens' Say feature is that the best, or some might consider the worst, end up printed on page A2 and sometimes the op/ed page.

Democratic Party Chairwoman Katie Lacey several months ago wrote about her disdain for Two Cents, saying publicly what others argue privately.

She raised concerns that compound previous troubles that local political parties have faced in trying to recruit candidates to run for office.

It is commonly felt that the demands by voters to be available all the time, compensation that has not kept up with inflation and already being the subject of vitriolic letters to the editor, make it tough enough to get people to run.

Mix in these features and the ability to recruit good candidates becomes even harder.

The big question is whether this newspaper will have to modify its use policy of this feature, if the lackeys of campaigns and parties abuse it as many worry will happen as campaign 2007 heats up.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com