Candidate combs area for votes

At a one-room church bazaar in the hilly town of West Conshohocken, Pa., Hazel Wack nervously gripped a handmade Christmas tree ornament as Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky approached her table. Without meeting her eyes, Wack informed Margolies-Mezvinsky that she is angry at her for voting to cut social security. "When you start messing with senior citizens, you're on my list," she said. "But, no, I didn't vote to cut social security," Margolies-Mezvinsky exclaimed, adding that her Republican opponent Jon Fox distorted her stances on many issues in commercials. After listening to the Pennsylvania Democratic congresswoman speak, Wack slowly let go of her resistance and began nodding her head. "You'd better speak up loud and clear," she said. "Because a lot of people would be surprised [by what you said]." In nine breathless hours of campaigning Saturday, Margolies-Mezvinsky travelled through the densely populated, highly conservative Montgomery County, which is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia. At school and church fairs, Margolies-Mezvinsky admired the handiwork of conservative women -- the group that some observers believe gave her the edge in 1992. Some constituents became excited when they saw the politician and mother of more than a dozen adopted and biological children at their community gatherings. "Maybe she'll buy a meatball sandwich," said Kathy Lee Thorton, who worked at a food stand at a church fair in Flowertown. "I admire her -- I like her views. She's a smart lady." When Doris Deal, who was also at the Flowertown fair, saw Margolies-Mezvinsky, she rushed up to her excitedly and clasped her hands. "I was thrilled to see her," said Deal. "She's very attractive and very nice -- that I expected. But I was surprised to see she is exceptional." Flowertown resident Kathy Fyfe, who stood at the Ladies' Sunday School booth selling Christmas angels, said she respects Mezvinsky for voting for President Clinton's economic package in 1993 -- the very vote which, according to Margolies-Mezvinsky, caused many to declare her "D.O.A. for this election." "She has the courage to do what she feels is right, even though it was an unpopular decision," Fyfe said. But Scott Forsyth, who exhibited his electric train collection at the same fair, said it was this decision that made up his mind to vote for Fox. "If you say one thing it would be nice to stick to it," he said. "You say one thing to get elected and go and do something else -- that isn't right." Although some were happy to meet Margolies-Mezvinsky, and others, like Forsyth, refused to even shake her hand, many at the fair said they were not sure what to make of her because of television ads. In Fox's commercials, Margolies-Mezvinsky is caught in unflattering angles by a slow-motion camera as she gives a speech. Margolies-Mezvinsky's ads portray Fox as a sexist. "Jon Fox for the Gong Show, maybe, but for Congress?" says a sarcastic voice-over. "Don't make me laugh." "All you hear [are] the bad things," said Pat Tavares, who put together "grab bags" at the West Conshohocken bazaar. "There's too much mudslinging. You don't know what to think." "I'm still listening," said Joan Helnski, also a resident of West Conshohocken. "I sit and I listen, and I just look for who will do more for the people. But I don't like Fox at all -- I think I will vote for her."