Personal attacks take over in state comptroller race

County Executive Janet S. Owens is making herself a stronger candidate by indignantly brushing off William Donald Schaefer's offensive comments, political observers said today.

With less than a week to go before the Democratic primary for state comptroller, Mr. Schaefer has been turning up the cut downs.

In his latest insults, Mr. Schaefer told The Washington Post yesterdaythat Ms. Owens is "the little prissy miss," is a "little girl" who wears "long dresses, and looks like Mother Hubbard - it's sort of like she was a man."

The comments came the same day Mr. Schaefer was running radio ads apologizing for...