FOR decades till now, local political contests have been defined by the incumbents vs. former officials, incumbents vs. new wannabes but have always been with one common denominator: they were all residents from the same town or city.

Incumbents vs. former officials contests are what we are seeing in Dagupan and Binmaley while incumbents vs new wannabes is what’s rocking the city of Urdaneta but with a twist – the new wannabe was never a long-time resident of the city but carries the title of being the wife of the incumbent governor, also not a resident of Urdaneta.

We speak of the contest between reelectionist Julio ‘Rammy’ Parayno III and the First Lady of Pangasinan, Maan Tuazon-Guico, herself not a bona-fide Pangasinenese but a noted achiever as well.

There is no law that prevents Mrs. Guico from seeking the mayoralty post, just a candidacy that promises a better life for Urdanetans, better than what a native Urdanetan can offer, or so, it is made to appear.

This argument, however, is easily debunked by the fact that only Mayor Parayno has achieved for the city a first-class classification, backed by its indisputable performance in economy.

However, the determined efforts by Mrs. Guico’s husband to suspend him, if not to marginalize Mr. Parayno’s reelection bid, led partisan emotions to peak among Urdanetans, the consequence of which has had no precedent. The loyal locals are not pushovers.

This situation should alert the Comelec and the provincial police to take further preemptive action to prevent any violence between the two camps. But any such police intervention must not be seen as an added effort to contain and restrict Mr. Parayno’s campaign lest it triggers a feared eruption of violence.

From all indications today, Mr. Parayno, the indefatigable local boy, is up against the resources of the Guicos lording it over the Fifth District and provincial resources available to the governor.

But as in all political contests, many other factors get into play. In the case of Urdaneta, to what extent can a political dynasty impact results, and how will locals finally respond to inducements from an outside political force?

And, how would the city elections affect the reelection bid of Governor Guico himself?

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