Pick One!

Needs: Substance. Riederer's campaign pitch amounts to bragging about his abilities as a leader and his promise to craft a 10-year "vision" for the city.

Hobbies: Gardening, painting with watercolors, competing in the short course of the Jackson County Triathlon, reading (particularly loved Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees)

Looks like: Andy Sipowicz

Katheryn Shields
One-line bio: Shields is a former Kansas City councilwoman and three-term Jackson County executive, and she is under indictment for mortgage fraud.

Daughter of a: Boiler operator and a housewife

Campaign gurus: Hubby Philip Cardarella and her brother, Donald Shields

Base of support: It appears to be dwindling.

Rich, powerful — and loyal! — donor: Campaign reports filed 40 days before the primary show that Shields' only contributor has been the engineering and construction firm Black & Veatch ($1,000).

Campaign contributions paid for: "Makeup services" from Sharon Sullivan of Fairway ($250, October 11, 2006), makeup from Sullivan ($500, July 21, 2006), makeup from Sullivan ($250, September 28, 2006), makeup from Donna Walters of Mission ($250, June 15, 2006)

Ich bin ein Northlander: Shields went to Park Hill High School and graduated from North Kansas City High School in 1964. Her campaign literature claims she was called "the Northland's 'Third Councilman'" during her first term on the Kansas City City Council.

Relationship with Kay Barnes: Both favor rain gardens.

Sworn enemy: The U.S. Attorney's Office, new Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders, Missouri Sen. Victor Callahan

Reasons to vote for Shields if you believe that she has been a victim of "political terrorism": She locked up the Chiefs and the Royals with 25-year lease agreements, created a diversity task force to catalog local hate crimes after the September 11 terror attack, and joined the ACLU and fellow Democrats in a lawsuit that struck down Missouri's voter ID law.

Should be embarrassed about: Shields announced her candidacy for mayor the day after being indicted for mortgage fraud; she also appears in a $100,000 mural painted on the ceiling of the Jackson County Courthouse, commissioned during her tenure as county executive.

Hunkers down in: A $249,200 home in Armour Hills Gardens, in the 400 block of East 65th Terrace

Somewhat revealing personal detail: "I think people see me as someone who is very tough — and I am a tough negotiator — but like everyone else, I'm a human person, and I have feelings about things."

Hobbies: Reading (last book: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom) and watching movies (recently, the Judi Dench sex thriller Notes on a Scandal)

Fashion statement: Slicked-back hair like Pat Riley's

When she's not being chauffeured by staffers, Shields rolls in: A 2001 Lincoln Continental and a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire GT

Looks like: The Little Mermaid's Ursula, the sea witch