Councilwoman Cathleen M. Vitale remembers election night this way: First she learned she had won her race. Then she realized she would be in the council's new GOP majority. And lastly it occurred to her that she would be the senior Republican.

So she floated the idea of running for council chairwoman - and it worked.

Vitale, 38, who began her political career as a youngster handing out fliers on Long Island, was recently named the Anne Arundel County Council's chairwoman. She was initially appointed to the council in 2000 after the death of Councilman Cliff Roop, who had defeated her in the 1998 council primary.

The daughter of an engineer and a schoolteacher, Vitale - who is married to a county firefighter and has a 6-year-old son, Mark Jr. - has lived in Severna Park since 1974.

She works as a family law attorney in Glen Burnie at Henault and Sysko. She specializes in mediation.

Inside her law office, she answered questions from The Sun.

In the past, County Council chairmanships have been given to the only person who volunteered for the job. What made you want to be chairwoman?

The chairman issue was sort of the after-effect of the election and the majority but looking over the last four years, [it also came from] the idea that I believe that [I have] the mediation skills and the willingness and the desire to put all the players at the table together. I thought that I had something to offer that we haven't had before.

What are the three biggest issues the County Council must address in the next four years?

The biggest one is not a secret to anybody. That is, how are we going to handle what the feds and the state are going to send to us. ... The federal government is looking at whether they're going to have to take cuts. We know the state is going to have to cut their budget. My fear is that they are going to do it by cutting our local resources.

Anne Arundel County gets open space money. We get construction money from the state, and we've already been told that we may lose some of that.

So I would have to say the biggest concern is what the state is going to do and the second is what the feds are going to do. But the other one is trying to address complete comprehensive rezoning, trying to do it in a manner that is going to address the needs of the county, the concerns of the citizens.

In the November election, Republicans claimed a 4-3 majority. How will the shift to a GOP majority be visible?

If the council is doing what's best for the county and doing what's best for the citizenry as a whole, the Republican/Democrat change shouldn't be visible. ... The four Republicans aren't going to agree on everything. We're four different personalities, so I don't see us agreeing on everything. I don't think it's going to be shown in that way. You may see some different policy thoughts.

The Republicans who were elected to the council are very conservative in their fiscal approach, so you may see nuances here and there.

Will the council be able to work with County Executive Janet Owens?

Yes. Early indications tell me that we already have established a good open dialogue with Mrs. Owens. She has sat down with my vice chairman [C. Edward Middlebrooks] and I twice now to talk ... and she's very agreeable. After having come off this last session, everybody wants to have a better working relationship.

I would suspect it's fair to say we're not going to support everything that Mrs. Owens [will] send for legislation and, likewise, it's fair to say that the administration is not going to support everything we want.

To think that we're going to have this great time where nobody disagrees would be impossible, but I think that you can agree to disagree and be respectful about it.

What is your goal for growth in Anne Arundel County?

Growth is inevitable, but the way that I would prefer that we look at growth in Anne Arundel County is to start by identifying the areas where we've already set aside for commercial growth, using that as an example, and focusing on those areas. Look at revitalization. Look at some other creative incentives to have the growth take place in the areas where either we need commercial development - if those exist - or in areas where we'd be able to give a boost to the commercial economy that's there if we did tax incentives.

We started doing some of that in the last council, I'd like to see that continue.

In your first term, you were appointed to your post. How did you benefit from the campaign process this year?

I went through the process once before, in 1998. It was different this time going into it as a councilperson. I had immediate feedback from people.

It was nice to know people thought I was doing a good job out there. I think the vote pretty much said that. [Vitale received about 70 percent of the vote.]

County Council members - in recent history - have had trouble getting along. How much responsibility falls on the chairperson to create a civil work environment?

Lots. Obviously you can't do it by yourself. ... I see it as being my responsibility to take the leadership on how we're going to conduct our business [and] how we're going to act with each other.

Do you have political ambitions beyond the council?

Time will tell. I've got a job to do right now and I'm focused on that, but time will tell.