The field, by most accounts, is a mix of uninspiring, inexperienced, and opportunistic — the kind of lineup that makes you nostalgic for the representative you had before. One local in the Sunset summed it up bluntly: "Most of the candidates are either a combination of uninspiring, inexperienced, or just opportunistic by nature. It honestly made me wish we still had Joel Engardio."

But the real story here isn't the weak bench. It's the hypocrisy baked into at least one campaign.

Alan Wong, who rode the recall wave into office on the back of a divisive D4 issue, has apparently been hitting the pavement and knocking on doors. Part of his pitch? Law and order. Fiscal responsibility. The usual greatest hits.

Here's the problem: when one resident pressed Wong on the Sunset Dunes saga — where voters have already decided the matter twice via ballot initiatives, and courts have upheld the outcome — Wong reportedly dodged. "I don't want to engage that conversation," he said.

Let that sink in. A candidate running on respecting the rule of law can't explain why he supported overriding the democratic process and wasting taxpayer money relitigating a settled question. As the resident who spoke with Wong put it: his version of law and order only applies to policy positions he already agrees with. Everything else gets another referendum until his side wins.

This is the kind of selective constitutionalism that should make any voter — left, right, or otherwise — deeply uncomfortable. You don't get to champion democratic institutions when they deliver your preferred outcome and then treat them as obstacles when they don't. That's not governance. That's activism with a title.

D4 deserves better than candidates who treat "law and order" as a campaign slogan rather than a principle. If you're going to knock on doors and ask for votes, at least have the courage to defend your record when someone actually opens up.