In an election expected to draw few voters to the polls, the race for Washington County commissioner hinges on voter satisfaction and whether calls for change will be heard.

Incumbent Commissioners J. Bracken Burns, Larry Maggi and Diana Irey say the county is doing better than ever, with the second highest rate of job creation in southwestern Pennsylvania, the second lowest tax rate, and as one of only two local counties to experience population growth in the last census.

Pitted against what one political adviser calls a "formidable bipartisan troika," Republican challenger Mike Neville is calling for change, saying the county can do better with no tax increases, more open and publicly accessible government, and term limits for commissioners.

He and Mrs. Irey will appear on the GOP ticket in the Nov. 6 general election. Mr. Burns and Mr. Maggi are Democrats. The top three vote getters win. Mr. Burns, 62, of South Strabane, and Mrs. Irey, 45, of Carroll, will be seeking their fourth term in office, while Mr. Maggi, 56, of Buffalo, is running for his second term.

In a debate last week and throughout most of the campaign season, the incumbents have stuck together on issues, displaying a bipartisan spirit that had been lacking in previous years, when Mrs. Irey and Mr. Burns clashed bitterly over many issues.

Department heads, who in past years might have been dismissed because they were appointed by an opposing commissioner, now sport campaign buttons for all three incumbent candidates.

The commissioners have been finding ways to get along during the past couple of years because, they say, it's necessary to build a successful county.

And, they say they've done that, making Washington County the "crown jewel of southwestern Pennsylvania," according to Mr. Maggi.

"Everyone wants to come here," he said, highlighting the county's country charm and low tax rates, which have been drawing in new residential and commercial development over the past several years.

But Mr. Neville, 47, a former two-term Peters councilman, takes issue with the commissioners for a 22 percent county property tax increase in 2004 and for voting county employees, including themselves, an annual 3 percent pay raise. If elected, he would support neither, Mr. Neville said.

The chairman of commissioners -- this year Mr. Burns -- earns $66,890 annually, while the other two earn $65,890 a year.

The commissioners couch the increase not as a raise, but a cost-of-living adjustment that is given to all county employees. Mrs. Irey voted against the wage adjustment, and against the tax increase.

The commissioners went 12 years with no salary hike until the increase three years ago, and Mr. Burns said it's "primitive" to think that elected officials should not be compensated or that salaries shouldn't be adjusted when the cost of everything goes up by about 3 percent every year.

For the same reason, he said, it's naive to believe that taxes would never need to be increased when the cost of salaries, health benefits and other costs soar higher each year.

"It just doesn't happen in the real world," he said.

Even with the increase, the county retains the second lowest tax rate in southwestern Pennsylvania, he said, and the county has improved in other ways.

According to the state Department of Labor and Industry Center for Workforce Information and Analysis, about 7,000 new jobs have been created in Washington County from 1996 to 2006. During that time, unemployment rates went down from 5.6 percent to 5 percent.

Though the county has consistently been slightly behind the state and national unemployment averages, by July of this year -- the latest data available -- the county's unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, compared to the state average at 4.5 percent, and the national average of 4.9 percent.

The average weekly wage for county residents still lags behind the state at $642 per week, compared to $716 statewide.

The commissioners also have touted their work in economic development, including several new industrial and mixed-use business parks, such as Starpointe in Hanover, Alta Vista near Bentleyville and Southpointe II in Cecil.

Mr. Neville said he does not favor building new business parks while others remain vacant, but commissioners said the parks have only temporary vacancies, and more business parks are needed for long-range planning.

"I think that's wrong," Mr. Neville said. "I don't think that's good planning."

"We're growing in job creation, and we have a lot to offer," said Mrs. Irey, adding that businesses often have different needs and circumstances when relocating.

If elected, Mr. Neville said he would stay in office for a maximum of two terms, and propose additional commissioner's meetings, including televised meetings at little or no taxpayer cost, and evening meetings at least once a month, each held in a different municipality.

Mr. Neville said residents have told him they cannot attend the afternoon commissioner's meetings, held twice a month.

"I hear that everywhere I go," he said.

He also questioned Mr. Burns and Mr. Maggi for accepting a campaign donation earlier this year from the Dominion Political Action Committee.

The county, along with thousands of residents, have been opposing a plan by Allegheny Power to construct a 37-mile, 500-kilovolt electric transmission line through Washington and Greene counties. Another proposed line from Greene County would stretch through West Virginia, into Maryland, ending in Virginia, where Dominion Power will build the last leg of the project.

Dominion Power is an electric utility company in Virginia and North Carolina, but Mr. Burns said the campaign donation, $500 for a golf outing for he and Mr. Maggi, was donated by a longtime friend who works at Dominion Peoples, a Pennsylvania gas distribution company.

The Dominion PAC includes all Dominion companies, but Mr. Burns pointed out that he and Mr. Maggi have been outspoken in their protest to the power line, including their testimony arguing against it at a recent state Public Utility Commission hearing.

Three candidates who have formed a successful alliance will be a tough battle for Mr. Neville, according to Joseph DiSarro, professor and chairman of the Department of Political Science at Washington and Jefferson College.

"It seems they have decided to maintain power and they don't want a newcomer in the picture," he said.

Mr. Neville said he believes the current board of commissioners see their jobs as lifetime entitlements that they don't want to be threatened.

"I'm not running against anybody or any team," he said. "I'm running for the people of Washington County."