Personality wise, you couldn't ask for a bigger contrast between the first two superintendent candidates the Seattle Public Schools have cautiously introduced to reporters. Where as José Banda was calm, soft-spoken, and deliberate, Steven Enoch was a frenetic bundle of nervous energy, his hands constantly moving to the rhythm of his long, detailed, enthusiastic, long answers to the paltry few questions we could jam into our allotted 15-minute interview. If he were a politician, one might suspect him of filibustering. But I got the impression that Enoch just likes to talk.

And he's got a lot to say. Of all the candidates Enoch has the most experience, having helmed a number of districts of various sizes, including the Mead School District near Spokane and the tiny San Juan Island School District, both here in Washington State, as well as the 48,000-student San Juan Unified School District outside Sacramento, California. Currently Enoch runs the San Ramon Valley Unified School District near San Francisco.

At 63, Enoch is also the oldest candidate, a fact that can't comfort those looking for a superintendent to impose stability over a long tenure. Neither does his penchant for moving on after a few years; if appointed, Seattle would be Enoch's fifth district in a little more than a decade.

But Enoch certainly seems to have the chops to run a big city school district, as well as a feel for the culture here in Seattle. Like Banda, Enoch passed my litmus test questions with flying colors. On charter schools Enoch says "I don't think it's needed in Seattle," pleasing me if not my counterparts across the table from the Seattle Times. On Teach For America, Enoch says that he loves "the mission," but would be "cautious" about embracing it, especially at a time when there are so many trained and qualified teachers out of work. As for the current craze toward using "value-added" student performance on standardized tests to evaluate teacher performance, Enoch says that "the jury is still out."

Again, like Banda, not the sort of answers that suggest he's bought into the corporate reform movement. Good. Whether he's ultimately the right fit for Seattle's current needs, I'm not yet sure. But it's good to see that the district has managed to recruit at least two apparently qualified candidates.