The appearance last week by Bill Cosby at a fundraiser for Baltimore mayoral candidate Otis Rolley III means one thing: We've got a real election on our hands.

Mr. Cosby's presence no doubt got people to pay attention to Mr. Rolley, if only to wonder what a man whose endorsements more famously run to Jell-O and Coca-Cola has to say about a former head of the Baltimore Office of Planning. For the record, he said he admires Mr. Rolley's rise from a poor childhood and his willingness to make the tough choices needed to move the city forward. But Mr. Cosby doesn't live here, and despite having some credibility in talking about urban and African-American issues, what he thinks isn't likely to sway a lot of Baltimore voters.

But what Mr. Cosby did do was bring in cash — how much, the Rolley camp isn't saying yet — and for better or worse, that's going to be what makes the difference between a real challenge to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and token opposition.

Before all is said and done, everyone from a former car dealer to a former head of the NAACP may get in the race, or it may wind up a two-person contest. But in Mr. Rolley, we at least have one candidate who will likely have the resources to articulate his vision for the city's future, and to force Ms. Rawlings-Blake to sharpen hers. Whoever wins, that process will be good for the city.