COVINGTON - If Republican Linda Geisselbrecht is elected Kenton County Magistrate Tuesday she probably won't be doing any weddings for grooms dressed like Superman, or performing services in an airplane, dressed like a ghoul, in a farm pasture surrounded by chickens, at a Covington convenience store, or in the middle of a bridge over the Ohio River.

"I really would like to make (magistrate) a more important position with dignity and prestige," said the Villa Hills resident.

What, incumbent Magistrate Steve Hoffman would like to know, is undignified about letting a couple exchange vows in the AmeriStop store where they met? Or presiding over a service where the couple are sitting on a motorcycle, dressed like "Parrotheads" or saying "I do" while standing on the Roebling Suspension Bridge?

"If those things are undignified, tell that to the couples who asked to be married like that," said Mr. Hoffman, a 13-year incumbent in the final days of what has been a tough re-election campaign.

"I'm a public servant. I perform a service for people on a very special day in their lives," he said from behind the desk at his crowded but tidy two-room office across from the Kenton County Administration Building in Covington. "If they want to get married on a motorcycle or on a bridge, so be it. To me, that is dignified."

Voters don't typically pay a lot of attention to county magistrate races, mainly because unlike some rural counties - where magistrate is analogous to commissioner - in Northern Kentucky, magistrates don't have a whole lot of duties other than performing weddings.

And no magistrate does it better, or at least as colorfully, as Mr. Hoffman. He has an archway in his office where couples - many of whom are underprivileged or don't have a lot of money for a fancy wedding - stand to be married. He has a Web cam that allows couples to broadcast their wedding live on the Internet.

And he'll do just about anything or go anywhere to grant the quirky, unusual, tacky and sometimes downright bizarre requests of his customers.

It's all he does. This is his job, a major part of his life. Mrs. Geisselbrecht - a marketing coordinator and part-time German instructor - could certainly do the job. She would just do it differentlyThis being an election year, there are some heavy political undertones to what should otherwise be a largely innocuous race.

Mr. Hoffman has been active in the Democratic Party, often serving as a spokesman over the years when it came to attacking Republican candidates and elected officials. So in some ways he has invited the opposition he now faces.

But some Republican county office-holders used their positions to play politics and go after Mr. Hoffman, trying to take his state retirement benefits away and helping Mrs. Geisselbrecht - a GOP leader in county politics - in her campaign.

And she has run a credible campaign, putting up lots of signs, sending mailers to voters and coming up with a platform that includes expanding the magistrate's duties by helping the county sheriff serve courthouse papers.

Mrs. Geisselbrecht also admits that, if she is victorious, her magistrate job will be a stepping-stone toward running for higher office in the future. And she will "share the wealth" when it comes to weddings, allowing others - including county commissioners - to perform marriages and pick up the fees that couples pay for the service.

Mr. Hoffman wants no other office, no other title or role other than that of magistrate. It's his job, his love, his life.

If elected, Mrs. Geisselbrecht would do the job as county magistrate. But she wouldn't do it the same as Mr. Hoffman.

Should that be important to people? To the ones who want to get married on a motorcycle or dress as Superman it is.

Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics. E-mail him at pcrowley@enquirer.com