I GOT A SURPRISE call from my old friend Adriel Hampton over the weekend.

Adriel, a former colleague now living in Dublin (we worked together at the SF Examiner and elsewhere), was beating the bushes as part of his run for U.S. Congress. Specifically, he's running for the East Bay's 10th District seat, recently vacated by Ellen Tauscher when she took a job with the Obama administration.

He's making a quite a go of it too, especially though the use of online tools like Facebook, various Web videos and ... well, pretty much anything you can think of. (It's all part of an online movement he's calling "Government 2.0.")

Anyway, the reason for his call had to do with a political column by someone named Lisa Vorderbrueggen, who writes for the Contra Costa Times. She wrote about the long and growing list of candidates vying for Tauscher's seat, yet neglected to name any of them save the "establishment pols," as Adriel put it.

"We need to get her off of her armchair and actually reporting what's really going on in this race," he said.

I won't be getting Lisa Vorderbrueggen off her armchair, but I can tell you this: When it comes to the Voice's political coverage, we'll cover all the candidates running for office. OK?

That's true even for the questionable candidates -- those of uncertain residency or legal complications -- not to mention an intelligent, friendly and clear-eyed up-and-comer like Adriel.

My main question now is: Who will be the first "Government 2.0" candidate of Mountain View?