The results of a recent Web search revealed that the incumbent councilman in Morrisville's District 2 wasn't the only Stohlman seeking a seat in town government.

Mark Stohlman, 50, is focused on winning a second term on the Morrisville Town Council. His brother, Thomas Joseph "Tom" Stohlman Jr., five years his senior, has joined a crowded field of 21 candidates vying for nine positions on the Town Council of Cambridge, Mass.

The discovery has generated more than a few laughs between the brothers.

"The funny thing is that I didn't know he was running until I kept running into his Web site when trying to register mine," said Mark Stohlman, who noted that Web searches for such queries as "electstohlman" or "votestohlman" led him to Tom's site, tomstohlman.com. Mark ended up with votestohlman.com.

The fact that Tom, always in front as the eldest of six siblings, snagged a Web site first has stoked the fires of sibling rivalry.

"I called him up and asked him, 'How could you do that to me?'" Mark said with a laugh.

Tom said he and his younger brother -- Mark is fourth among his siblings -- talk often, but he must have neglected to mention the fine details of his election bid.

"Maybe it's an indicator that it's just one of those things you do," Tom said of running for political office. "You get involved in your city or town and, in one sense, it's no big deal. That's probably why we didn't tell each other."

Finding themselves at competitive odds is nothing new for the Stohlman brothers.

During the 2009 National Hockey League playoffs, for example, the brothers made a friendly wager over whether the Carolina Hurricanes or Boston Bruins would win their series.

Mark offered up barbecue if the Canes lost. To the chagrin of his younger brother, who had hoped for a prize lobster if the Bruins were defeated, Tom wagered baked beans.

A similar bet was placed during Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, when the Carolina Panthers took on the New England Patriots.

When it comes to their politics, however, all bets are off.

Natives of the nation's capital and the sons of Democratic parents, Tom and Mark Stohlman have grown into political foils.

Tom is a staunch Democrat and, as brother Mark puts it, "strictly liberal." Mark, a Republican, says he avoids the standard political labels. But Mark concedes that if he must bear the mark, "the opposite of liberal is conservative."

The brothers are on a short list of Stohlmans who have held political office.

Mark Stohlman said his paternal great-grandfather, John W. Stohlman, held the mayor's seat in Somerset, Md., from 1919 to 1938. Tom said he had heard family stories of his maternal great-grandfather holding the same office in Baton Rouge, La.

But it's their parents, Jean Mack Stohlman and the late Thomas Joseph Stohlman Sr., who provided much of the inspiration for the brothers' political ventures.

"Mark and I have some differences, the biggest one being of course in this case that I'm a liberal and he's not," Tom said. "But, you know, you learn a lot of stuff from your parents."

Tom Stohlman described his father, for example, as a "very moderate, middle-of-the-road guy who never ran for office but always voted."

He said his dad stressed the importance of being well-informed and taking part in the democratic process.

Their mother, meanwhile, was an "unrelenting liberal," Tom noted. Jean Stohlman involved herself deeply in the campaigns of local and national politicians, including George McGovern, the Democratic nominee in the 1972 presidential election.

"Mom was very involved," Mark said. "She picked a candidate and went to bat for them, no matter what."

Both Tom and Mark Stohlman said their parents' displays of passion and leadership continue to motivate them.

So, while the brothers might view the national health care and economic debates from opposite sides, they still find common ground.

"We do agree on one thing," Tom said. "The only way we're going to survive as a country is if people get involved. We both feel very strongly about that."