Prall: Political newcomer looks to gain more Republican control

Months of careful planning and hours of work have led up to this. Today, residents of Bloomington will go to the polls to decide who will occupy the mayor's office for the next four years. For Bloomington, it's election day. For Fred Prall, it's judgment day. \nPrall, the Republican candidate, is fighting an uphill battle. There hasn't been a Republican mayor in left-leaning Bloomington in 32 years. However, Prall said he's confident of victory. He said that he feels he has gotten his name out in the community more than any Republican candidate in recent memory. Sandy Parkes-May, his campaign manager, said she has seen the community reaching out to him. \n"(Prall) is continuing to feed off of responses the public is giving to his message," she said. "It keeps him going." \nParkes-May said groups have been calling, commenting and generally "wanting to touch base with him." Prall estimates that over the course of the past six months, he has personally knocked on over 8,000 doors in Bloomington and has worked with people receptive to his ideas. \n"The only difference now is that people know my name and face," Prall said. "They can't believe a candidate for mayor is knocking on their door."\nAs late as Monday night, he continued with his door-to-door campaign, trying to show every household in Bloomington what they say is important to him.\nPrall thinks he understands what residents want because he has been a city resident for most of his life. After graduating from IU, Prall stayed in Bloomington and worked for the University for 10 years before opening his own private accounting firm here in 1973. He coached over 17 local youth sports teams and advised several nonprofits on their accounting practices.This is his first time running for public office. Parkes-May said she thinks he has embraced the experience. \n"He's been like a sponge, actually soaking up any experience he's had campaigning," she said. "He's gotten involved in every aspect." \nBy beginning his frequent speaking engagements with a summary of his background in Bloomington, followed by a short disclaimer saying that he is not a career politician, Prall hopes to distinguish himself from his opponent. \nAt the IU College Republicans meeting last Monday night, Prall said to members, \n"I urge you to remember the foundation that this country is built on. People should get in there, serve a term or two or three and then get out," Prall told IU College Republicans at the group's meeting last Monday. \nHe motioned to the Republican candidates gathered around the room saying, ""We have a very broad section of people representing the community and they're here for the right reasons."\nPrall's main goals if elected would be to improve the local economy by assisting small businesses and bring larger employers to the area, to alleviate traffic problems in the city, and to re-evaluate city spending. Last week, the Prall campaign sent out a press release promising to give Bloomington residents a break on their taxes by eliminating the trash sticker program and freezing utility rates. He has also said that he wants to work with students to give them some representation in Bloomington city government.\nPrall is optimistic about his chances of winning the race. \n"We're going to have a new governor (of Indiana), we have a new IU president, and it's time for a new type of leadership in City Hall," he said.\nThis past weekend, Prall spent time with his family, re-energizing himself for the last big push. He attended church Sunday morning with his children and grandchildren and relaxed a little bit in order to focus for the final stretch. Today, Prall will be voting first thing in the morning, then visiting precinct polling places to talk to voters and encourage his campaign volunteers.\nWhen asked what he would be doing as the results rolled in tonight, he answered in his usual straight forward style, "Celebrating. The party starts around six."\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny Viviano at jviviano@indiana.edu