Small(er) Town Politics Watch: One of the main ways that at-home dads pop up in the news is when they end up running for public office. It happens from time to time -- one of the dads on one of the Yahoo! groups dedicated to at-home fathers posted a bit about his run last fall -- and though I can't say that Rebel Dads have a cohesive political philosophy, it's nice to hear a different kind of voice.

So it's worth noting that at-home dad Doug Sandvick made the mayoral run-off in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin: "Sandvick, 41, who left his job as a marketing and project manager to become a full-time dad, Scout leader and baseball coach, criss-crossed the city the past three months, knocking on doors and meeting residents. The walking tours evidently paid off." And a bit south, in Peoria, Illinois, Ray Rusch is running an anti-tax campaign.

Here at Rebel Dad, I care more about positive media attention (and family-friendly work policies and societal celebration of non-traditional gender roles) than tax policy or civic services, so I'm not in the business of endorsing anyone. (RD endorses ideas -- good ideas -- as much as possible, though.) And though RD doesn't have a dog in these fights, I'll still watch Ray and Doug closely -- after all, they've run a household. How hard can a city be?