In the May 15 primary for Pittsburgh school board in District 2, two credible candidates are seeking the seat being vacated by Patrick Dowd, who is running for City Council.

The Allegheny County Democratic Committee has endorsed Stephanie Tecza, 44, of Polish Hill. The District 2 Coalition, the citizens group that formerly fueled the success of Mr. Dowd, has chosen Heather Arnet, 32, of Highland Park. Since both candidates are cross-filed for the Democratic and Republican nominations, one could take both and become the heavy favorite to win the seat in November, or the contenders could split the nominations and face each other again in the fall.

The district includes East Allegheny, Highland Park, Lawrenceville, Morningside, Polish Hill, Spring Garden, Spring Hill, Stanton Heights, the Strip District, Troy Hill and Washington's Landing.

At first blush, Ms. Tecza might seem the more logical successor of Mr. Dowd, although he never got the party's endorsement. She was his campaign chair the last time around but now she expresses some reservations with him. Ms. Tecza, a parent of two children, one of whom was a special education student who recently graduated from Schenley High School, is an employment specialist helping young people with disabilities, She has spent years advocating for children and families in schools.

Although she pledges to help all children, clearly her interest in special education is much on her mind. Her problem with Mr. Dowd (and Superintendent Mark Roosevelt) is that in the plan for school closings -- which she recognizes had to be done -- special-education children were treated as a separate group and weren't included with their classmates when they were moved to other schools.

Ms. Tecza also sought the community group's support and signed a pledge saying that she wouldn't run if she didn't get it. After Ms. Arnet received the group's backing, Ms. Tecza said she thought the endorsement meeting was unfair and decided to run anyway. That's troubling to us.

As it happens, neither the issues in this race nor the question of a broken promise are the most compelling reason to choose one candidate over another. Instead, it's the comparative weight of qualifications. Ms. Arnet, a 1997 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, is the perfect example of the sort of bright, young professional that Pittsburgh is always seeking to attract (she is originally from Miami).

Ms. Arnet is executive director of the Women and Girls Foundation and before that was director of development for City Theatre. She has served on many local boards and has been recognized with various honors as an outstanding woman of achievement. She argues persuasively that her background in the business and foundation world makes her a perfect fit for the school board, where a knowledge of grant-making and a familiarity with budgets are a big plus. She is also a strong supporter of Mr. Roosevelt, more so than her opponent.

As the mother of a 4-year-old, she understands very well that the key to keeping people like her family in Pittsburgh is in providing quality public education for their children -- and she is brimming over with ideas about how to do it.

Whether a voter is Democratic or Republican, the choice is clear. The Post-Gazette enthusiastically endorses Heather Arnet.