A statue of the mayor of Halloween Town sits on the desk in Jennifer Hensal’s Medina law office.When visitors spy the memorable figure from The Nightmare Before Christmas, they often mimic the character, who says in the animated movie, “I’m only an elected official. I can’t make any decisions by myself!”Hensal, in a recent interview, said of becoming Akron’s next mayor: “It’s not something I aspired to become; however, it’s something within my realm of thought.”Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, 62, has questioned why Hensal, his Republican challenger, is even running — accusing her of not being a serious candidate during a debate this week. He and others think she wants to be a judge and is trying to build name recognition while scoring points with her party.“I am serious,” Plusquellic, a Democrat, said during the debate.Hensal, who moved to West Akron about 18 months ago, said the question she has heard most often during the campaign is the same one she sometimes asks herself: “Why?”“I’m running because people have been — even before I announced my candidacy — saying this is not being dealt with as it should be,” she said. “I’m what’s better. That’s a reason to run — to see if I can do some good out there.”Hensal, 44, knew coming into the race she would be the underdog, as a first-time candidate challenging the longest-serving mayor in Akron or any other big Ohio city. She has done her best to run a credible campaign, pointing out issues — including the city’s finances — that she thinks need to be addressed and doing so with far less money at her disposal than Plusquellic.“She faces a steep, uphill battle,” said John Green, director of the University of Akron’s Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. “A Democratic city. A mayor with a successful record coming off a primary win. That’s not easy to overcome.”Still, Green said, Hensal’s mayoral bid might help her gain experience that will prove valuable down the road, if she decides to run for office again.The Beacon Journal talked to Hensal and Plusquellic about why they are running, the issues the city is facing and who is better equipped to tackle those issues.Who is Hensal?Hensal cannot claim political experience, but politics runs in her family.C. David Hensal, her late father, was the first judge in Wadsworth Municipal Court. Sandra Hensal, her mother, is a retired Wadsworth Township fiscal officer.Hensal entered the Summit County Republican Party’s radar earlier this year when she applied for the vacancy created by the death of Summit County Common Pleas Judge Brenda Burnham Unruh. She didn’t get the appointment, but the party encouraged her to consider a different office.“It was suggested I run for mayor,” Hensal said. “It seemed like a good fit. The thought that this is just some sort of mechanism for something else is false. I’m kind of more of a ‘what are you doing right now?’ type of person. Not that we don’t all look toward the future. If there is a need for judge, I will look at what they are asking me to do then.”Plusquellic, however, says it is his understanding Hensal put in for the probate court opening that Judge Bill Spicer’s retirement created. That seat came open after she started her mayoral campaign.Hensal said she didn’t apply but did ask party leaders whether they wanted her “name in the ring or not.”“The response must have been ‘no’ because I wasn’t under consideration,” she said.Hensal wasn’t one of the three candidates the party suggested to Gov. John Kasich, who has not made his appointment.“She’s not interested in being probate judge,” said Summit County GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff, who was peeved at Plusquellic’s assertion that Hensal wasn’t a serious candidate. “She’s running for mayor.”Hensal easily won the Republican primary last month against Katie Marie Wilkins. Plusquellic, who struggled with whether to seek another term, scored a hard-fought primary victory against his former ally-turned-rival, Akron Councilman Mike Williams, and political newcomer Janice Davis.What are the issues?Hensal got a political gift this month when Ohio Auditor Dave Yost put Akron into the state’s new, previously unused “fiscal caution” designation.Yost gave the city 60 days to fix accounting practices that led to negative fund balances and an $87.8 million fund deficit. He called Akron’s 2010 audit “a serious matter” but not “a crisis.”Hensal pounced, calling the results “disgraceful” during a news conference the next morning and saying Akron should have responded to criticisms in previous state audits by addressing its negative fund balances. Instead, she said, the city continued the same accounting methods.She said she would determine the city’s true financial state and shore up its budget by making cuts, starting first with the mayor’s office and moving out from there.Plusquellic said Akron is responding to the audit and already has addressed one of Yost’s main concerns by significantly reducing its number of active funds. The mayor said Akron had more than 700 funds — starting a new one for every capital project — to improve accountability and comply with requirements of government agencies that awarded the city grants.“If that’s the system the new sheriff wants, then that’s what we’re doing,” he said of Yost, a Republican in his first term as auditor.When it comes to safety, Hensal doesn’t go as far as Williams, who promised no layoffs of police officers or firefighters during his campaign, but she does say bringing police up to full strength — whatever number that might be — would be her No. 1 priority.Plusquellic said he is “cautiously optimistic” about Akron’s budget next year and is hoping to hire more police officers and firefighters. He said the number would be dictated by the city’s finances. Akron’s income tax revenue has increased 5 percent this year, but the city’s local government funding from the state will be reduced significantly next year.“We must figure out how much we can afford,” Plusquellic said, adding that the city didn’t get a federal grant to hire police. “I wish we could hire 100.”What is their background?Though she hasn’t held office, Hensal points to other experiences she thinks have prepared her to be mayor.She has worked closely with local villages and cities as solicitor and law director. She said she also is the financial officer in her law firm, handling the budget, and previously did this at her own firm.Plusquellic has run on his long record of public service — as mayor since 1987 and as an Akron councilman for 14 years before that. He has emphasized the innovative ideas he pioneered, including joint economic development districts (JEDDs) and using an income tax increase to rebuild schools that double as community centers. He also has pointed to the economic development efforts he has led, including luring businesses to Akron from other countries, which have earned him the support of leading local business leaders.If Hensal were elected, she would become Akron’s first female mayor. She said this did not figure into her decision to run.“It didn’t enter my mind until someone pointed it out,” she said.Plusquellic, who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, was offended when asked whether he thought the city was ready for a woman to lead it.“I don’t think there’s any question any number of females could be mayor of Akron,” he said. “Just not this female. One needs to prepare themselves more than being assistant law director in Wadsworth.”Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.