At a meeting where the Durham People's Alliance endorsed the four incumbents in this year's City Council races unanimously, a new member asked why we hadn't described the eight challengers' track records on local appointed boards. Our PAC chair's answer was succinct -- "Because none of them have served on one."

For some citizens, these appointed roles function as valuable apprenticeships in local government. Seventy locally appointed boards and commissions are where volunteer leaders perform the hard work of making the Bull City better. They advise staff and elected officials on our bus system, zoning requests, services for the elderly, environmental education, and numerous aspects of Durham civic life. Some members face being a white person in the minority for the first time or face working with people whose cultural or ideological views they don't share and can't ignore. They also gain relationships with people that don't look, sound or act like them.

I'm not saying that service on these boards should be the only criteria for endorsements. But it was still an important question that brought to mind some history.

I first moved to Durham in 1984. The following year Wib Gulley won the mayor's race.In a move that might surprise newcomers to Durham, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People endorsed Gulley for mayor over African-American council members Howard Clement and Chester Jenkins. He was elected with a bi-racial coalition and became a leader in efforts to improve our bus system, gay rights, housing and recycling. He went on in the '90s to serve as our state senator.

Part of his political track record in that first race for mayor? A successful term on the Board of Adjustment, an arcane body that passes judgment on requests for minor tweaking of land use. Its members decide how close an addition can be to a property line or whether a fence can be 6 feet high instead of 4 feet for instance. Heady stuff.

Certainly most voters don't follow the Board of Adjustment's inner workings. But I believe that many, in considering Gulley's candidacy in '85, noted this apprenticeship. Some likely felt his quiet, but effective term on the board, working with people from every corner of Durham showed an ability to be an effective mayor.

Laboring in these appointed vineyards of Durham civic life -- where you'll find red, white and scuppernong grapes all needing attention -- citizens learn how to collaborate and compromise in a small 'd' democratic society. They also develop relationships that can keep them plugged into Durham's many communities and win personal as well as PAC endorsements.

With rare exceptions, winning an election in Durham has required getting endorsements from both a white group and a black group or from a progressive group and a conservative one. This political landscape has generally -- but not completely -- filtered out the gadflies and uncompromising candidates.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, and in the November election, the final outcome is a foregone conclusion. The incumbents, with decades of civic apprenticeships and multiple endorsements will prevail. The challengers have simply not paid enough dues in a town that wisely values a candidate's proven ability to work with people who don't look, sound or act like them. I'm sure the challengers will learn a lot from their campaigns. I hope they learn that Durham wants leaders who are willing to work in the vineyards -- even if it only means successfully negotiating how tall the fences will be.