There is only one candidate for state Representative for the 65th state House district - this district with some 60,000 residents. Kathy Rapp is not unique in this enviable political position.
The Pennsylvania State University, with a total enrollment of about 86,000 among its various campuses, has 83 candidates for three positions on its Board of Trustees. The election for those positions runs through early May and is generating headlines across the country.
There was a time when an election for Penn State trustees wasn't nearly so interesting to so many people.
This sudden interest in Penn State's board of directors has been generated, of course, by the university's handling of accusations of sexual abuse against one of its former assistant football coaches and the firing of head coach Joe Paterno, the iconic head of a storied sports program, who has since died.
The dichotomy here is stark and perhaps somewhat indicative of a trend in American culture, which has gradually and subtly increased the emphasis on the fortunes or misfortunes of entertainment and sports personalities.
This is not to say that the university's handling of the Jerry Sandusky allegations does not raise serious questions about the leadership of one of America's top university systems.
However, if one reads through the press reports on the election, many of those 83 candidates are running primarily because they believe the current board mishandled the firing of Paterno, only one aspect of the case, rather than seeking ways to prevent the root cause of the controversy in the future.
The sheer number of candidates for three seats on a 22-member working board, with 16 additonal emeriti trustees, says something about the fervor generated by what some believe was the unnecessary sullying of the reputation of a great man not long before he died.
If only there was as much interest in the current state of the Pennsylvania economy, its entire educational system, and teh myriad other problems facing the rest of the state's 12.7 million residents.