Crafting his image | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

County business waits while Mr. Leopold cuts out every article bearing his name, makes photocopies and leaves them on the desks of senior staffers.

Most career politicians assign such tasks to interns, aides or a paid clipping service. But Mr. Leopold is unlike most politicians, and so his days begin with a thorough check of his reflection in newsprint.

"In newspapers, that's where he creates his image," his former spokesman Marina Harrison Cooper explained.

Mr. Leopold, 65, attends to that public image with the same precise focus he applies to campaigning, politicking and setting government policy - a self-assured, take-charge style that has both won him praise as a skilled self-promoter and secured legions of critics.

During Mr. Leopold's first 18 months in office - the most powerful he's held in his four decades as an elected official - his critics have repeated complaints that have echoed throughout his career.

They say he's a loner obsessed with media attention, a man who doesn't like to collaborate, listen or share the spotlight, a politician more concerned with public perception than solving big problems.

His advocates offer a simple response: Mr. Leopold cares only about his constituents, and the political establishment can't make sense of his single-minded focus on voters.

"This guy, in my humble opinion, is consumed by his job and politics," said Dennis Callahan, a former Annapolis mayor and currently Mr. Leopold's chief administrative officer and a close advisor. "John (Leopold) is 24 hours a day. I mean, I really believe he goes to bed thinking about it. He wakes up thinking about it."

Obsessed with role

Mr. Leopold's expansive corner office at the Arundel Center feels clinical.

It's empty save for a portrait of his idol, Abraham Lincoln, his large executive desk and two modest chairs for visitors.

. The blank walls give the impression someone is about to move in or someone's about to move out. Either way, the place gives a feeling something is about to happen.

After two decades as a delegate in the Maryland General Assembly, Mr. Leopold took on his greatest political challenge in 2006 as the under-funded outsider disliked by other politicians.

His opponent in the county executive race outspent him three-to-one. But Mr. Leopold eeked out a victory by running as the anti-establishment candidate, personally knocking on 17,000 doors, having chats with voters in their kitchens and - despite chronic back pain - standing by the side of a road waving at motorists with a giant "Leopold" sign.

He's kept that no-frills style.

His desk phone has an intercom system, but he prefers to shout out to the two secretaries seated just outside his door. He nearly always arrives at work first.

"One time, I was the only one here on the morning of a storm. And I was answering the phones," he said, smiling broadly during an interview last week.

After 40 years in politics, he has a stockpile of anecdotes like that to hand out when he needs to connect to the average taxpayer.

By the start of a normal workday, Mr. Leopold has finished the newspapers, including the obituaries. He regularly sends letters of condolence to grieving constituents.

At mid-morning on a recent day, Mr. Leopold and his secretary sort through the day's nearly two dozen invitations to attend ribbon cuttings, birthday parties, or community events.

"I'm trying to decide if I can go to a community day in Pumphrey," Mr. Leopold mused aloud. "It's been part of my legislative district for 21 years. I never want them to think, 'Oh, you're a big shot now.' So, I always want to go."

Despite his move to higher office, Mr. Leopold maintains many of the habits that set him apart as both a Republican maverick and quirky local political figure.

He's well-read, articulate and tends to impress people with his intelligence.

He issues press releases nearly every day announcing something he deems as a success. And his 6-foot-1-inch lanky figure is spotted at parades, farmers' markets or other events every weekend. He even repeats the same joke as he opens speeches at community events: "Blessed are the brief," the quip goes, "for they will be invited back."

He professes to care little about the needs of his campaign contributors. And he still relies on gut feeling and intuition to make most of his decisions.

"When people would walk through the door, I could tell from their body language if I should hire them," he said.

Mr. Leopold estimates his decisions are made with 90 percent intuition and 10 percent "intellectual reasoning," drawn largely from his tight circle of advisors - Mr. Callahan, Alan Friedman, his director of government relations, Jonathan Hodgson, the county attorney, and Erik Robey, director of constituent services.

A portrait of the five of them, lined up side-by-side, hangs in the lobby of Mr. Leopold's office - a photo playfully referred to in the Arundel Center as "The Men of Anne Arundel County."

The rest of the lobby is home to photos of Mr. Leopold grinning with Boy Scouts or cutting ribbons, plus poster-sized reprints of newspaper photos of Mr. Leopold and his pets. In one, he nuzzles the furry cat he named after 16th century French satirist Francois Rabelais. In another, he walks his dog along the beach near his Pasadena home.

For those who are fortunate enough to get a coveted personal meeting with the county executive, the lobby offers not only a glimpse of his apparent infatuation with his image in the media, but also of the men who help shape his opinions.

Critics abound

What Mr. Leopold considers an efficient decision-making style, several of the county's powerbrokers consider heavy-handed and alienating.

According to the most recent survey by the Center for the Study of Local Issues at Anne Arundel Community College, the majority of residents believe the county is "headed in the right direction" with Mr. Leopold's policies, which include no new property or income taxes.

But officials who watch policies unfold behind the scenes say the county may be on a crash course.

"He and his inner leadership team are not collaborative in any sense of the word," schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell said, still visibly frustrated that a year and a half ago, Mr. Leopold suspended what were supposed to be regular monthly meetings. Mr. Leopold appears to have canceled every regularly occurring meeting that his predecessor conducted.

"He doesn't have meetings just to have meetings," Mr. Friedman said. "If there's a reason to have a meeting, then we'll have a meeting."

But Dr. Maxwell, who publicly fought the county executive and declared school funding "devastating" this year, said Mr. Leopold's style is limiting.

"It isolates him from a lot of other points of view besides what happens in his office," Dr. Maxwell said. "He does have a message (he wants to convey) and once he has it, he stays on a tack check. As if you were sailing, he is on a tack, and he's not going in another direction."

"One of the complaints I've had all along is that he (Mr. Leopold) is not engaging the stakeholders in the community," said Bob Burdon, president and CEO of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce. "John (Leopold) is a very good self-promoter, and his image is very important to him. But I think he's out of his element. I don't think he knows how to govern," Mr. Burdon said, later adding, "You run into the danger that when you're trying to control your image while you're governing that you make decisions that benefit you, and may not (ultimately) benefit the taxpayers."

On a recent morning, Mr. Leopold was briefed by a staff member who said a south county community complained about a dangerous traffic intersection and asked for a street lamp. Mr. Leopold had put money in the budget for lighting to deter crime, and he decided since this was a safety issue, the county should install the light.

Though he appeased the residents, those sorts of decisions irk county workers.

"A lot of things, perception-wise, look very good," said one longtime county employee who spoke about Mr. Leopold on the condition of anonymity. "But there's definitely talk in the ranks that a lot of county employees aren't completely happy with his management style. I can't say whether it's him or the people within his administration, but it's a micromanaging style that's done without really getting out and seeing what's being done. � He has a hit-and-run approach with the public. When you're making decisions based on image rather than what's necessarily best for the day-to-day operation of the department, it's not a good thing."

Former County Executive Janet S. Owens observed "a single-minded focus on the media" at the expense of building coalitions of support within the community.

"There has been a grievous lack of communication around decision-making, and that has alienated people," she said, adding that she has "never seen a County Council so united against a county executive."

Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer said that in her experience dealing with teen violence and asking for the county executive's help, Mr. Leopold only followed through on the initiatives he found important. She added that a city employee assigned to a taskforce to help stop the violence received "a frosty" reception from the county and the effort fell apart.

"There's no communication," Ms. Moyer said. "There's no sense of communication in what the city has to offer to help."

Even some of Mr. Leopold's supporters feel isolated and harbor concerns that his public perception takes priority over policies.

"He'll sometimes ask for input, but he's not interested in the exchange," said Bob Gallagher, executive director of the West/Rhode Riverkeeper organization and a former civil rights attorney.

"It seems that politics is his career, his life," Mr. Gallagher said. "It seems like he wants to be reelected � and there is the concern that being reelected is more important that being right."

Mr. Gallagher emphasized he found Mr. Leopold's efforts to preserve land and solve some environmental pollution concerns encouraging. But, he said, "the question that remains to be answered is whether we are at the beginning of an upward trajectory of improvement, or if it's just a flurry of activity to make it look like we're doing something, and it will dissolve away. I certainly hope it's the former."

Mr. Callahan systematically dismissed the critics, calling some "jealous" that Mr. Leopold won the election in 2006.

"It's an American tradition," Mr. Callahan said. "You elevate people, and when you elevate them - whether it's in athletics, Hollywood, or politics - human nature is to immediately try to bring them back down to your level again."

He said he regularly attends meetings and addresses concerns on Mr. Leopold's behalf because the county executive does not have time or the need to meet with everyone who wants to chat.

"You always want to keep your ace in the hole, so to speak," Mr. Callahan said. "One of the difficulties that any politician faces is when you say no. People always expect a yes. Or, they want a yes. And when you say no, usually your negatives and your enemies accumulate. Sometimes, I'm the 'no' guy."

Controlling message

The complaints about Mr. Leopold's attachment to promoting his image and doing things his own way have followed him since he was first elected to the state school board and then later the legislature in Hawaii.

"He was a rebel," Virginia Isbell, who was Mr. Leopold's running mate in the 1978 Hawaiian governor's race, said in a 1990 newspaper interview. "That's one of the reasons he didn't make it. None of the Republicans supported him. He had a few contacts and a few people, but I wouldn't say they were dedicated. If he had more friends, he would have won."

"He was always very hungry for publicity," longtime political reporter and columnist Richard Borreca of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin recalled last week. Mr. Borreca said he was once in a bathroom at Hawaii's State House when one of Mr. Leopold's press releases came sailing over the top of the stall.

Mr. Leopold did not remember that particular incident, but said that in general: "I think that with maturity comes a more responsible leadership, and I think that whereas 20 years ago, I may have been more impatient or impulsive, I'm now more mature and more deliberate."

Those who've worked with him recently see a very professional approach.

"He gets out in front of issues, out in the very front. Not only does he read every newspaper, he reads with purpose and intent," said his former press officer Ms. Cooper, who spent eight months helping Mr. Leopold form his image in the media. "He doesn't just care about what's going on at every level of the community, he's looking for ways to put his stamp on it � And when I say he wants to get out front, he is literally beating people to the punch every time."

She offered a few examples.

Although he can not directly effect federal immigration policy, he decreed that all county contractors would have to sign an affidavit promising not to employ undocumented immigrants. And he told the jail administrator to refer all foreign-born inmates - legal or illegal immigrants - to federal authorities.

Although he could not compel an energy company to clean up ground water contaminated with potential carcinogens from fly ash, he issued statements demanding more action from state officials.

Although he has no authority over local judges, he issued statements condemning them for giving lax penalties to defendants who broke laws he authored.

And although Mr. Leopold could not bring criminal charges against a judge accused of illegal dumping along a shoreline, Mr. Leopold issued statements questioning whether the Maryland Attorney General's inaction meant the judge was getting special treatment.

"He's a very smart, career politician who really looks at the bigger picture," Ms. Cooper said. "Do most of his voters know that he doesn't have control over the fly ash issue? Do most of his voters know that he doesn't have jurisdiction over most immigration issues? No. But they can appreciate the things that he can do. You have to give him credit for that."

And if Mr. Leopold feels he's not been given the proper credit or coverage by the press, he instructs staffers to request corrections, clarifications or dictates that someone writes a letter to the editor with his version of the story, Ms. Cooper said.

Ms. Owens said she found the organized letter-writing campaigns "down and dirty politics."

"I like to think I fight for justice," Mr. Leopold said. "It's not personal; it's really business. It's setting the record straight. � My record is the best campaign."

Others have felt pressure for speaking out.

"I know that when I'm quoted in the paper, and I say anything that may not please him about him or about the job he's doing, I'll get a call from one of his people," Mr. Burdon from the chamber of commerce said.

The tactic irritates other politicians with less aggressive publicity strategies.

"His strengths are certainly his ability to control his personal environment and to control the messages that move from his environment and into the public," Ms. Moyer said. "In that way, he drives the agenda and he drives the public mind. The average person doesn't think about politics for more than 30 seconds a day. I think by the end of his term, he'll have the public in his pocket."

A look at John R. Leopold's career.

Feb. 4, 1943: Born in Philadelphia

1964: Graduated from Hamilton College

1967: Moves to Hawaii

1968: Becomes the first Republican ever elected to the Hawaii State Board of Education

1970: Elected to Hawaii State House of Representatives

1974: Elected to Hawaii State Senate

1978: Loses Hawaiian governor's race

1981: Moves to Maryland.

1983: Elected to Maryland House of Delegates in District 31

1990: Loses to Philip C. Jimeno in State Senate race.

1991: House of Delegates term ends

1994: Elected again to House of Delegates in District 31.

2000: National Republican Legislators Association names him Legislator of the Year.

2006: Wins the Anne Arundel County Executive election.