There’s an interesting contrast between the approaches of the two candidates in the 4th District race to replace Kirkman Finlay III.
Tony Mizzell, as a former county council member and advertising executive at Chernoff Newman, works the phones, checks in with local party leaders and makes savvy media buys — such as being the first to advertise on bradwarthen.com, not to mention his geotargeted ads at The New York Times and on YouTube.
Leona Plaugh, on the other hand, keeps to the retail approach, knocking on door after door, hearing individual voters’ concerns, asking them to put up a sign for her. That’s how she got the support of my friend (and semi-relative — we share a granddaughter) Hunter Herring, who put one of her signs in his yard when Leona knocked on his door and asked him to.
As a former city manager, her approach is that of looking at specific service needs of specific city dwellers. She told me, when we met 
for coffee yesterday at her usual place (the Starbucks at the Shoppes at Woodhill), that she keeps meticulous records of specific requests from voters, as well as exactly where all her signs go (so she can get them gathered up after next Tuesday). Sometimes this pays off in unexpected ways — one voter thanked her because the very day after she told Leona about wanting a new water line, the city crew showed up and started work. Pure coincidence, in that case.
She feels like this prepares her for being a councilwoman, because she knows, for instance, where all the stormwater drainage problems are. Her approach seems to have won over one former opponent — Walter Powell Jr. She said she doesn’t expect any further such endorsements, because both are concerned it would be a conflict — Kevin Fisher is returning to being an award-winning columnist in the Free Times, and Mary Baskin Waters is soon to be president of the citywide council of neighborhood associations. (Not sure why those considerations would prevent them from endorsing, but there it is. I don’t understand why Steve Morrison wouldn’t endorse, either.)
It will be interesting to see which approach prevails. Leona’s personal touch, or Tony’s media savvy (of course, I have an economic incentive to root for the latter). Of course, the division isn’t that cut and dried. Tony was out there washing pollen off voters’ windshields at the corner of Old Woodland Road and Garners Ferry.
And of course, Leona was savvy enough to take out her own ad on this blog.
But there’s still a difference in styles that is interesting. I have no idea which approach will win out next week — or even which one should.
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“That’s how she got the support of my friend (and semi-relative — we share a granddaughter) Hunter Herring, who put one of her signs in his yard when Leona knocked on his door and asked him to.”
Look, as I have been telling you about ads–if you don’t ask, you don’t get (most of the time). I tell that to my neighbors at our meetings. Speak up!
I think it is becoming clear that Leona is playing to her strengths–as city manager, she was famously responsive to residents’ issues. Is Tony going to be similarly responsive or is he playing to the larger business interests? (the windshield washing was clever, though!)