Tampa Bay voters will face yet another system for casting ballots next week when the polls open for Tuesday's primary, and what happens as a result is anybody's guess.

Even more depressing than the prospect of waiting for hours in line to vote while everyone fumbles with fill-in-the-bubble sheets, black-ink pens, secrecy envelopes and optical scanners (and you thought the touch-screen voting machines were tricky?) is the notion that you have to go through all that rigmarole but have so few choices. Vast numbers of incumbents didn't draw challengers, and primary ballots in a presidential year tend to be light on heavyweight races and lacking in media attention.

Do not, however, let that deter you from voting. It is your right. It is your responsibility.

To help, here's a look at five of the most interesting and important races in Tampa Bay in the primary election.

Congressional District 9

Covers northern Pinellas, eastern Pasco and northern Hillsborough County to Plant City

Who's voting: Democrats who live in the district

Candidates: Latina issues activist Anita de Palma; former Plant City Mayor John Dicks; and Tampa attorney Bill Mitchell

The winner of this Democratic primary takes on Gus Bilirakis, whose family name has had a three-decade hold on this seat in Congress. Democrats, however, think this is the year that Bilirakis might be vulnerable, owing to the overall low approval marks for President Bush and Bilirakis' bottom-of-the-barrel power ranking from Congress.org.

The trio of candidates is pretty much in lockstep on the issues: End the Iraq War soon and responsibly; prohibit offshore drilling; and more funding for alternative energies. The real differences emerge in what they each bring to the table.

De Palma is the Florida director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a position that has sent her to Washington to push for pro-Latino issues. "I was able to face issues on a national level, to try to get people to work together and see your point of view," de Palma says. "… And also I am widely traveled, all over the world. In that position [of congressperson], you need to have a worldwide overview."

Dicks touts his work actually governing people as a Plant City commissioner and mayor. He is the consensus favorite in the race and has received notice from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has boosted his profile nationally for fundraising.

Mitchell is a Navy veteran who worked in Washington for the Federal Trade Commission, litigating against Big Oil in Congress and helping author a policy paper on offshore oil leasing. "I like to say I'm a veteran, not a veteran politician," he tells campaign audiences.

Bottom Line: All three seem capable, informed candidates, with Dicks the darling of the DCCC and Mitchell hustling hard to challenge him.

Congressional District 10

Covers southern Pinellas and its beaches up to Dunedin, as well as part of Palm Harbor

Who's voting: Democrats who live in the district

Candidates: Dunedin Mayor Bob Hackworth; financial planner and one-time Reform Party governor candidate Max Linn; activist and broadcaster Samm Simpson

This seat is now held by the venerable C.W. Bill Young, who has been in the House of Representatives for more than four decades and who is the king of pork around these parts — and many voters take that in a good way. Young, a former Appropriations chairman, knows how to get money for his district's infrastructure and economic development programs.

But it is exactly those earmarks that his opponents decry, as well as Young's support for the Iraq war. This is another primary where all three candidates differ more in experience and personality than on the issues.

Samm Simpson is returning after losing to Young in 2006 by a 66-34 percent margin, not a stellar performance against a well-funded Young. Simpson is the furthest left of the three primary candidates, with strong support from the hardcore progressive community in the district, even if she is the worst funded of the three. Her top priority reflects a strong activist bent, writing that it is "to assist the Nuclear Works of Pinellas County to get their legal reparations from DOE toxin cover up via Energy Employees Occupation Illness Act." Simpson insists, however, that she has an edge as the only woman in the field in a district that is 60 percent female.

Linn made his fortune as an investment advisor and has spent millions on long-shot political efforts, two years ago running on the Reform ticket for governor. He insists he gets the edge because he has the organization and money to take on Young. "I feel confident that I am going to spend whatever it takes to win," Linn says. "Samm had her opportunity last time, and she did no better than any opponent he's had in the past 30 years. They're qualified philosophically, but they're not qualified financially or organizationally to beat Bill Young."

Hackworth, who has won elections in trendy-cool Dunedin over the past decade, says his experience on the job is what voters should be looking for.

Bottom Line: Hackworth has the most mainstream profile in the race, as Simpson and Linn both have experienced moments of campaign weirdness that raised questions in local media coverage.

Hillsborough County Commission District 6, Republican

Covers all of Hillsborough County

Who's voting: Hillsborough Republicans

Candidates: Incumbent Commissioner and former pro wrestler Brian Blair and auto dealership sales manager Don Kruse

Brian Blair is the poster boy for Democrats looking to get a pound of flesh out of the local GOP this year. Blair infamously led the charge to gut Hillsborough's wetlands protections laws and raised an anti-gay stink against the student-led, anti-bullying Day of Silence in public schools. He is ridiculed in activist videos on YouTube and pummeled by daily newspapers.

So when it came time to see who the papers would endorse in this Republican primary, it was almost unimaginable that they would choose Blair over Kruse. But they did.

It left Kruse, a novice politician, shaking his head.

"I'm not trying to represent a party," he says, in a statement that might not be the wisest thing to say in a partisan primary. "I'm trying to represent the people. All people. The Democrats, [for instance,] have a lot of great and valid issues."

Kruse vows a greener environmental policy than Blair but also hits at the growth of county taxes and calls for greater budget transparency and accountability. He says county departments should be rewarded for not spending all their budgets instead of being required to "use it or lose it."

His big issue with Blair is not knowing if the incumbent is ethically sound. "I don't know what's in his mind," Kruse says, "[because] he hasn't showed up for any of the debates."

Blair is unrepentant about his controversial stances on fiscal and social issues. "I will never be a status quo politician," he says. "And that is really what gets me a lot of attention. I am simply not here to do what staff tells me to do." In a second term, he would push to give more money to the county's internal performance auditor to expand the measurement of how efficiently different departments are running. The son of a carpenter, Blair also plans to continue his support of the development community: "Building isn't a special interest; building is a very strong part of our economy. And look at our economy. It isn't the gas prices. It's the building."

Bottom Line: Kruse has much less money than his opponent and needs to learn a lot more about government, but even some Republicans have to feel like he is better than Blair. Then again, maybe not.

Hillsborough County Commission District 6, Democrat

Covers all of Hillsborough County

Who's voting: Hillsborough Democrats

Candidates: Financial planner and former cop Kevin Beckner; smart growth activist and lobbyist Denise Layne; entrepreneur, free speech advocate and adult-club owner Joe Redner

Again, here is a primary race where personalities, not issues, separate the candidates.

Beckner is the newest face in the crowd, making his first run and garnering excitement within the progressive Tampa Democrats who smell blood in the water when it comes to running against incumbent Brian Blair. Beckner has built a large campaign organization and is talking about applying his financial planning style to county government: assessing and defining the problems, planning better to find solutions to them. He'll also benefit from support in the gay community, representing the antithesis of Blair when it comes to diversity and tolerance.

Layne has run (and lost) before. She is an extremely well-informed activist who founded the Coalition for Responsible Growth and lobbies in Tallahassee on behalf of citizens for water and growth issues. "I really am grassroots," Layne says. "I am a neighborhood, grassroots lobbyist. My coalition has always looked out for the public good."

Redner has run for public office numerous times, coming close a few years ago in a race against Tampa City Councilwoman Gwen Miller until he erred in offering free admission to the Mons Venus for anyone wearing an "I Voted" sticker. Many write off Redner as the nude dancing king and publicity hound, but his knowledge of exactly how the system works and his articulation of the growth-related problems we face is second to none.

Bottom Line: Beckner has the Democratic establishment support and money, while Layne hopes her grassroots network comes alive for her on Election Day.

Pinellas County Commission District 3, Democrat

Covers all of St. Petersburg, the eastern half of Pinellas Park, Gulfport and the beaches from Madeira Beach south

Who's voting: All Pinellas Democrats

Candidates: Former St. Petersburg City Councilwoman Rene Flowers and Sierra Club activist Darden Rice

The Republican candidate for this open seat is already determined: maverick Christian Coalition'er Nancy Bostock from the Pinellas School Board. The Democratic choices offer two underrepresented archetypes: Rene Flowers, a black former St. Pete City Council member who focuses on affordable housing as her priority, and Darden Rice, a Sierra Club activist who wants to amp up smart growth policies in Pinellas. Both are bright and progressive and have mainstream support: for Flowers, she's endorsed by a group of local business, religious and minority leaders and state Rep. Arthenia Joyner; for Rice, she's got the support of City Councilmen Jamie Bennett and Karl Nurse and state Reps. Darryl Rouson and Rick Kriseman, among others.

Flowers' main downside for some political watchers is her lack of flair and independence. In its editorial recommendation of Rice, the St. Petersburg Times called Flowers' years on the City Council "steady, if unspectacular." But she is ardent in her support for not only figuring out a way to create affordable housing but her desire to spread the new-jobs base in mid-county throughout Pinellas to reduce drive times and let people find housing near their work, she told WMNF in an interview earlier this year.

Rice narrowly lost a City Council race in 2005 but is a rising star in Pinellas progressive politics. Like Beckner, she will benefit from a base in the gay community as well as from her environmental roots. Rice's campaign portrays her as the breath of fresh air that the Pinellas commission, rocked last year by the Jim Smith land scandal, needs. "We are running on a theme of new leadership," Rice told WMNF radio. "It's time for someone with a different default setting."

Bottom Line: Once again, here are two good candidates who would bring fresh perspectives to a board that needs them. Rice has more money and buzz, while Flowers has two terms' worth of name recognition.

This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2008.