Who's the fairest of them all?

If members of the Alliance for Good Government weren't already familiar with Claude Mauberret and Janis Lemle, two candidates for New Orleans' new citywide assessor post who briefly addressed the group's meeting this week, they would never have guessed that their backgrounds are as different as can be.

Mauberret was born into old-school New Orleans politics. The 2nd District assessorship has been in his family for over a century and in his own hands since he took over for his father in 1994.

His campaign unveiling, a letter mailed recently to homeowners in his district and several others, had a distinctly traditional gloss. Mauberret included lists of endorsers, customized by neighborhood. If you live in Lakeview, you got Tony Angelo of the popular restaurant that bears his name. The Garden District got former Rex Bill Grace. Algiers got the Heitmeier brothers, former state Sen. Francis and current Sen. David. Everyone got former D.A. Harry Connick.

Mauberret enclosed a pushcard, the traditional biographical handout. And he threw in a self-addressed envelope, with a printed plea for campaign donations of up to $2,500.

Lemle, meanwhile, is new school, with roots in the insurgent movement that set the stage for merging of the seven assessor offices in the first place. ¶

An attorney by trade, Lemle was hired by Nancy Marshall, the lone successful candidate from the 2006 IQ (I Quit) slate. The IQ candidates, as a group, promised they'd step aside for a non-politician if elected. Lemle is currently Marshall's deputy assessor, and will likely carry the coalition's flag this time around.

Yet despite their divergent career paths, the messages that Mauberret and Lemle delivered to the Alliance were practically indistinguishable, right down to the choice of catch phrase. Both candidates vowed that property assessments on their watch would be "fair and equitable."...