t may take a sharp eye to detect it, but there is a race for Congress in the 9th District this year.
US Representative J. Joseph Moakley, the South Boston Democrat who has held the seat for the past 28 years, is facing two challengers - Janet E. Jeghelian, a Westwood Republican, and Independent David A. Rosa of Taunton.
So far, lawn signs, bumper stickers, and other familiar trappings of a campaign are all but nonexistent in the district, which includes Medfield and Needham in the region covered by Globe West.
But Jeghelian and Rosa insist they are doing their best to make their voices heard.
Although recruited by Republicans to run for the seat, Jeghelian said the party has given her little help and that her campaign budget is limited. But she said she has been attending Republican gatherings and sending e-mail to potential backers. She also plans to run newspaper ads. Rosa said he intends to hold some voter registrations at malls and to distribute his literature in targeted neighborhoods. A veteran, he also hopes to speak before veterans groups.
Moakley said the election has been so quiet that he had no immediate plans to do his own campaigning, apart from appearing at political events that he would normally attend and mounting his customary get-out-the-vote effort on Election Day.
A former state representative, state senator, and Boston city councilor, Moakley, 73, said he is running on his ''very solid record of accomplishments'' in delivering funds to the district, for the cleanup of Boston Harbor, the construction of the new courthouse and bridge on the South Boston waterfront, and support for local colleges and universities.
He said his record also included ''fighting for human rights, trying to lift the embargo in Cuba, fighting for children's education funds, [and] fighting to put the money into the Social Security fund and the Medicare fund rather than giving it back in big tax breaks'' to the wealthy.
In addition to her 1998 primary defeat for lieutenant governor, Jeghelian, 66, lost a Republican primary bid for US Senate in 1994. She served two terms as a Westwood selectwoman, from 1972 to 1978. A radio talk-show host for 15 years, Jeghelian is now rehabilitation director and a physical therapist at the Stone Institute, a skilled nursing facility in Newton.
''The main reason why I'm running is there needs to be a Republican voice in Washington,'' she said. ''I think it's most unfortunate that Massachusetts has only Democratic representation when we have a Republican Congress.'' She said that because of the lack of GOP representation on Capitol Hill, Massachusetts has fared poorly in the competition for federal funds.
''I like Joe as a person, but Joe and I disagree on everything,'' Jeghelian said of Moakley. ''I come from a decidedly moderate to conservative Republican base. I believe Joe is an extremely liberal Democrat.''
Moakley said that the Massachusetts delegation is ranked 11th by Roll Call magazine in terms of its clout on Capitol Hill. ''I would dare say that nobody in America has gotten the federal money for [their] district that I've gotten.''
''I think I'm a moderate,'' Moakley. ''I'm liberal when it comes to medical matters and educational matters, and cleaning up crime on the streets, and human rights. But I'm kind of down the middle.''
An Air Force officer from 1980 to 1993, Rosa, 46, is currently a civilian acquisition-management specialist for the Air Force at Hanscom Air Force Base. He ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 1978.
Rosa said he has a keen understanding of customer service and is ''very energetic'' and ''pointed toward the future.'' He said his understanding of defense spending and of the economy would also be a plus. He said a key priority for him would be to advocate for campaign finance reform. ''We need the election process to be back in the hands of taxpayers and voters.''
