For mayor: Mary Katherine Greenlaw

"WELL-BEHAVED women," claims the bumper sticker, "rarely make history"--overlooking the fact that the human race's most well-behaved woman turned history on its head 2,000 years ago. And overlooking, too, women such as Mary Katherine Greenlaw, who demonstrates that quiet reserve and decorum are no bars to trailblazing accomplishment.

Long before Mrs. Greenlaw joined the Fredericksburg City Council in 2008, she quietly made a bit of local history. At a time when "women's work" was largely defined by spatulas and pruning shears, she often was the lone female on boards and committees linked to civic causes, from mental health to juvenile crime, that require wise engagement. Attending some of these sessions must have been about as much fun as burying a horse. But she did it out of dual duties, to the community and to the women who would follow in her footsteps.

On Council, Vice Mayor Greenlaw has been on the right side of most issues during hard times, balancing city priorities against strained budgets. As a mental-health volunteer, she once drew praise for her "constant attention to detail"--a quality honed by her later work in commercial sales and leasing at Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. It serves her well as an elected official.

Mrs. Greenlaw is sometimes called the choice of "The Establishment." Would people who say this like her better if she would scowl and shake her fist at "The Man"? One obvious thing about The Establishment is that it establishes things--many of which make our community better. Mrs. Greenlaw has been at that her entire adult life--establishing kids' futures as a teacher at James Monroe High, dreams with the Dance Ensemble of Fredericksburg, and first-rank health care as chairwoman of Mary Washington Hospital. For her, Fredericksburg is not a temporary duty station. She is part and parcel of Our Town.

There are things to commend about Mrs. Greenlaw's rivals. Councilman Fred Howe, who will remain on Council in any event, has well-developed ideas about riverfront development and upgrading the city's checkered "gateways." The energetic Rev. Matt Paxson possesses a "New Media" dexterity that could draw younger people to civic affairs. But Mrs. Greenlaw lists her own worthy goals--from refocusing tourism marketing to creating a performing-arts center--and has the tested steadiness to achieve them. We urge Fredericksburgers to make her their next mayor on Tuesday.

For Council: Matt Kelly