At long last, Election Day is upon us.

It seems like much longer than six months ago when we, as a city, collectively yawned about the primary election.

The big story from May 8 was the serious problems with many polling places. As you may recall, widespread disorganization and no-show workers kept some polls from opening on time or in a few cases, at all.

Of course, those problems had little to no effect on the outcome of any races because so few registered voters even bothered showing up. Those who did show up didn't have to think too hard about whom to vote for, as many candidates were unopposed on the ballot.

The November election was shaping up to be a ho-hum affair, something to get out of the way so the 2008 presidential election could begin in earnest.

Then the property tax bills came out and people suddenly remembered that local and state governments have a real, direct effect on their lives. The voter turnout on November 6 will no doubt be much higher than it was in May. It's a shame the ballot will be no more interesting.

This is an election year when control of Marion County could, and should, be up for grabs. The mayor and all 29 city-county council seats are on the ballot. After this summer, who doesn't think these men and women have the power to make a difference in the lives of the rest of us?

However, county Republicans, fresh from claiming victory in a hard-fought prosecutor's race, punted on the Marion County mayor's race. They've put next to nothing into the mayor's race, leaving their candidate to drum up support alone.

In the next three years, the mayor of Indianapolis will deal not only with taxes, but also ongoing police and fire consolidation issues, crime that's all too prevalent in our neighborhoods and possible restructuring of township government. Then there's the smaller-picture issues that, nonetheless, will affect the city for years to come: redevelopment of Market Square Arena, opening of Lucas Oil Stadium, expansion of the Indiana Convention Center.

Mayor Bart Peterson's Republican challenger, Greg Ballard, has done an admirable job of campaigning with little support from his party's leadership. He's seized on the discontent over property taxes and peppered his "Had Enough?" yard signs throughout the northside.

But if Ballard can't convince the Marion County GOP that he's the best candidate for the job, I doubt he'll be able to convince the majority of the county's voters.

That leaves us political spectators to ponder the city-county council races. This could be a big year that results in control of the council shifting from Democrats to Republicans. On one hand, a GOP-controlled council would serve an important checks-and-balances function if Peterson wins re-election. On the other hand, resolution of the tax situation and restructuring of local government will require bipartisan cooperation.

Part of the northside will get the opportunity to vote in the District 8 race, in which incumbent and current council president Monroe Gray faces off against challenger Kurt Webber (whose race, it should be noted, has garnered support from the county GOP). It'll be interesting to see who wins in the battle between Gray's diehard supporters and those swayed by allegations of questionable ethical practices.

Most of the rest of us will either vote in District 3, where M. Ryan Vaughn will challenge Cody Kendall for the seat Vaughn's held since January, or in District 9, where Jackie Nytes is running unopposed. That district isn't necessarily a gimme for the Democrats, though-Nytes is a finalist for the CEO job at Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. Whether on the council or at the library, though, Nytes will continue to have a say in our taxes.

Even in a relatively slow year election-wise, there's still enough intrigue to send me to the sofa with a bag of popcorn to watch election returns on Tuesday night. Make it interesting-vote.