Republican candidate focuses on grassroots approach

A 20-foot red, white and blue billboard with "Prall for Mayor" in large block letters coasted down Third Street during the Homecoming parade Friday. Prall himself, along with his campaign workers, ran along the side, smiling at the crowds, passing out notepads with his name printed on the top and Dum Dum lollipops.\nThe scene is a perfect illustration of how Prall, the Republican candidate for mayor of Bloomington, feels his campaign is progressing.\n"We've been having a lot of fun," Prall said. "We have a lot of enthusiasm, we have a lot of support, we've had a lot of contributions and we've got the right message. We're doing great."\nWith less than a month until the November 4th election, Prall's campaign is shifting into high gear. Campaign volunteer Carla Carter said the campaigning will begin to get frantic because of the many events scheduled over the next few weeks.\n"The momentum is continuing to build as more and more people step up to help," Carter said.\nCampaigning has moved from registering citizens to vote to convincing voters that Prall is the right person to fill the mayor's office. Along with the Homecoming parade, Prall and the IU College Republicans tailgated before the football game Saturday along with Mitch Daniels, a candidate running for governor of Indiana.\nAlmost every evening Prall has been visiting group meetings across town. He's spoken to the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County, the Small Business Association and various neighborhood association meetings. Campaign officials said from now until the election, Prall will be at Kilroy's on Kirkwood every Friday evening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in order to be accessible to students and answer any questions they might have.\nTonight at 7 p.m. Prall will be participating in a debate with Democratic opponent Mark Kruzan. The event was organized by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and will be televised on WTIU Channel 5.\nJen Kingry, election coordinator for the Bloomington Area Chamber of Commerce, said she believes the election is still anyone's race.\n"I haven't heard a lot of swaying to one party or another. (This is) obviously a democratic and liberal-type town," Kingry said. "But for some reason it seems that there is a lot of interest in (the election) this year."\nAccording to the Monroe County Voter Registration office, 25.35 percent of the county's 79,592 registered voters casted a ballot in the 1999 Monroe County elections. This year there are 94,500 registered county-wide.\nVice president of the IU College Republicans, junior Rebecca Homkes, is the political coordinator for Prall's campaign. She said a Prall win would be a refreshing change for the city. \n"Bloomington hasn't had a Republican mayor in over 30 years, so it's obviously an uphill battle," Homkes said. "But I know that we've gotten (Prall's) name out into the school and community more than any (mayoral) candidate in the past."\nPrall said he is noticing that name recognition. He said people are more familiar with him than they were in August and September. \n"When we go door-to-door now, people recognize us," Prall said. "We're being received by the community."\nOn Oct. 2 Prall spoke in front of more than 30 residents of Bell Trace senior citizen living community. His speech lasted less than three minutes. He didn't joke around or tell short stories like several of the other candidates that spoke at the forum that night, but simply summarized his background and then stated why he wanted to be elected. \n"I'm running in this community at this time to make a change in where the community is going," Prall said.\nHe said that he'd rather meet the residents one-on-one and discuss the issues that are important to them. \nPrall's straightforward approach has been a centerpiece of his campaign. He said he believes focusing on the issues is what is most important, and he thinks people are listening.\n"I thought we had the message from day one," Prall said. "Now we have the feedback. People are paying attention to what's being said."\nThere are several issues Prall wants to address if he is elected. He wants to work to alleviate traffic congestion in Bloomington and strengthen the relationship between IU and the community. Prall's basic platform is to reduce crime, help stimulate the Bloomington economy by reducing the restrictions on small businesses and bringing larger employers to the area and to track city funding to ensure that funds aren't being spent inappropriately.\nThat fiscal responsibility is what Jim Snodgress, a resident of Bell Trace who has lived in Bloomington since 1948, thinks is most important. Snodgress said the fact that Prall is a certified public accountant and owns his own accounting firm is important. \n"From his background, I follow that he'll be more careful with money than what is currently being attended to," he said.\nPrall said so far his campaign has been going just the way he's wanted it to. \n"I sense that we're really going to pull this thing off," Prall said. "I can see light at the end of the tunnel and we're racing toward it."\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny Viviano at jviviano@indiana.edu