Janet S. Owens says she is not the "nice lady" who took on Anne Arundel County's political elite in 1998, defeating a council member for the Democratic nomination for county executive and then ousting Republican incumbent John G. Gary.
"I've had too much responsibility in my professional life to be nice," said Owens, who refers to herself these days as "tough" and "tenacious."
But Owens still fits her nice image, to a point. She advocates feel-good projects such as dog parks and has promised, if re-elected, to add 4,000 acres to the nearly 5,000 acres of farmland she has preserved. The county's loudest cheerleader, she has her staff churning out press releases on job growth and local volunteers.
Owens, 58, has done a lot of cheering during her re-election campaign against Republican challenger Phillip D. Bissett, a 46-year-old Mayo resident and former state delegate.
Bissett argues that Owens is a weak and vindictive leader who has not lived up to her 1998 campaign promises. He has criticized her education policies and her use of two police officers as bodyguards -- personal protection that has cost taxpayers about $450,000 during the past four years.
Owens -- a Millersville resident who is a former Orphans' Court judge and director of the county Department of Aging -- rebuts Bissett's charges, especially that she lets her husband, Baltimore lawyer David M. Sheehan, manage county business for her.
She said that her efforts to improve the county's municipal bond rating have resulted in greater borrowing power and that her dedication to education and public safety have resulted in improved salaries -- and a better retention rate -- for teachers, police officers and firefighters. All three unions have endorsed Owens.
"Anne Arundel County is a county on the move," Owens said. "We have the building blocks in place to be the premier county in the state."
Owens said that when she moved into the county executive's fourth-floor suite at the Arundel Center in Annapolis, the county was "mired in controversy," much of which she says was caused by Gary. Owens said there were fears that the county would lose thousands of teachers because of low morale and poor pay.
In the past four years, Owens and the County Council have raised teacher salaries 15 percent (she approved one raise without the council's input, contributing to a budget shortfall the next year), dedicated state money to pay for school repairs and denied home-building waivers in areas where schools are crowded.
"My commitment to education is real," Owens said.
Owens disappointed many parents, however, when she nominated South County builder Konrad M. Wayson to the school board. Owens said the move was aimed at bringing more fiscal responsibility to the board, which had approved a $300,000 compensation package for recently hired schools Superintendent Eric J. Smith without consulting her.
"I thought the school board was out of control, and I thought the board needed someone with a business background," she said. "I believe we have a strong board today."
Belt-tightening will be the focus for whoever wins the election. Owens says the county, under her leadership, is well-prepared. She and the council have maintained the county's reserve fund -- about $24 million -- and have held property tax increases to 2 percent a year for three of the past four years.
Last year, Owens decided not to recommend an increase in residential property taxes even though there was room under the voter-approved tax cap.
Perhaps Owens' most notable accomplishment has been the progress on a plan to convert the former David Taylor Research Center near Annapolis into an office park. The administration recently completed a complex land transfer deal between the Navy and a private developer -- the first step in revitalization.
The $250 million project is one of several, however, that have damaged Owens' reputation in some pockets. Homeowners near the former naval installation say traffic to a new office complex would clog streets.
A proposal to build a Safeway in Deale -- a project that Owens supported and then ditched -- also caused residents to question her commitment to responsible growth. She has been criticized for signing a redevelopment pact for the Parole Plaza before residents had agreed on design standards.
Opponents have been quick to point out that four years after she attacked Gary for accepting money from developers, Owens has taken in roughly $145,000 of the $582,000 she had raised as of Oct. 20 from the industry.
She makes no apologies. "Since my door is open to everyone, I thank everyone who has contributed," she said.
However, others, including Bissett, charge that Owens is not accessible to the public and appears to be deferring key decisions to her husband and political advisers. Former county employees say Sheehan has lobbied council members and intervened in labor contract negotiations. Sheehan and Owens say that's not true.
"I will give her credit where credit is due, but I believe that there is room for improvement," said Terry R. Gilleland, chairman of the Anne Arundel Republican Central Committee. "She was in the right place at the right time. The school construction money was there, and with the exception of this last year, we have been in a good financial state. She has been able to claim some of the good news."
Political attacks have put Owens on the defensive recently, but she says she manages the strain of public life with infrequent but re-energizing visits to her farm in Bristol.
On the lawn, a patio table and chairs overlook fields. A distant paddock brings back memories of horse-riding lessons and a time when her two sons, now grown, were small enough to sit on her lap.
"This is an impossible job," Owens said. "But it's the letters from people who say things like, 'Ms. Owens, we are praying for you,' that keep me going. That's the neat part."