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The two candidates vying for the mayoral seat in Rockville's November election offer voters vastly different approaches to governing.

And in the first race since 1987 that finds a sitting council member challenging a sitting mayor, some would say the candidates could not be more dissimilar in the way they vote, in the way they campaign and in the way they interact with staff and citizens.

Susan R. Hoffmann, vying to win a second term, said she talks to as many residents and staff as possible before making decisions. The West End resident tries to see both sides of every issue and to not forget that she, too, lives in Rockville, she added.

Phyllis R. Marcuccio, the two-term councilwoman from East Rockville, said she comes from a background as a science teacher and asks as many questions as necessary for her to fully understand every issue.

The two often find themselves on opposites sides of issues that come before the City Council, such as the controversial 2010 city budget, which passed by a vote of 3-2, and the once-weekly trash pick-up, which also passed 3-2.

Hoffmann voted for both the spending plan and the trash schedule, while Marcuccio was opposed to both.

"Whenever there is an issue before the council, my first concern is how it will impact the citizens," Marcuccio said. "I was elected to office by the people that vote, and that makes me obligated to them."

Hoffmann said she tries to understand both sides.

"At some times we are the eyes and ears of the residents of Rockville," she said. "I put myself in the place of any residents that come with questions or concerns. Anything they need and want is what I need and want."

Marcuccio said she tries to discover the motivations and details of issues to better inform her decisions.

"If you decide about something, there has to be a reason you went one way or the other," she said. "I need details. I want to know the reasons behind the decisions we make."

As for how Hoffmann and Marcuccio operate from the dais, here the two take diverging approaches as well.

"I will query and query until I find something that leads to the next level of questioning, at least," Marcuccio said. "I'm not a flashy sort of individual that feels appearance is more important that substance. I need to have substance. That's me."

Hoffmann prefers to operate by the book.

"I honor our system of mayor and council/city manager form of government," she said. "By that I mean we serve as a board of directors. As for working with staff, they're the professionals. It's not our job to be professional financial directors or public works directors. That doesn't mean we don't question. It doesn't mean if we have some level of expertise we don't push back, but that's what they do."

Former mayor James Coyle, who is heading up Hoffmann's campaign, said the mayor has an attitude that voters are looking for.

"Particularly in these difficult times now, people are looking for effective leadership," Coyle said. "Susan has the demeanor and approach that engenders that. She's well respected for her professionalism and the manner in which she brings her skills to the governmental arena."

Joseph Jordan, Marcuccio's campaign manager, thinks voters will appreciate Marcuccio's unifying qualities. "I think one of the biggest contrasts people will be looking for is the idea of bringing cohesiveness to the council," he said.

He said that "Marcuccio might be more inclined to look for input from everyone."

Jordan also noted that Marcuccio's willingness to ask questions in public is a positive quality.

The different governing styles of the candidates reflect their different backgrounds.

Marcuccio, 74, is a graduate of Richard Montgomery High School and has lived in Rockville most of her life. For 38 years, Marcuccio worked for the National Science Teachers Association.

She served on the Rockville Housing Authority for 10 years, was part of the Croydon Park Advisory Board and Review Committee and served as president of the East Rockville Civic Association.

Hoffmann, 63, is the marketing and communications manager of the Silver Spring Regional Services Center in her professional life.

Before that she served as a congressional aide to two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, as a public affairs assistant to the 1980 White House Conference on Families, and worked as a features writer with the Bucks County Courier and Doylestown Intelligencer in the Philadelphia suburbs. She and her family have lived in the West End since 1988.

Election Day is Nov. 3.