Looking for a campaign manager?

Call Ashley Pageau.

Political hopefuls who are trying to scratch their way into office would do well to hire this 8-year-old. Her energy could catapult them into the limelight.

Although we don’t want to let the feline out of the bag, Pageau, who has a rust-speckled nose that looks as though it was kissed by the sun, has taken the temperature of the public and figured out how to capture its attention.

The red-haired show stopper is making an all-out effort to give away what nobody wants — all-American, mixed-breed, Heinz-57-variety, down-home, back-door kittens. Five to be exact.

And she is doing it in Washington County, where giving away young mousers is comparable to giving sand to Saudi Arabia or fog to the Brits. In Washington County, fertile females cats freely roam the woods and often come home after a night on the prowl with more than when they left.

Candidates, frustrated that the public has not heard their message, could borrow a page from Ashley and Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan forced wordsmiths to ask if “the medium is the message.” With her homemade sign, Ashley has figured it out.

Ashley lives on Route 1 in Columbia, and she took advantage of that location to mount a campaign over the weekend to give away the kittens. Perched on the side of the road, but well within the boundaries of her family’s driveway, the little girl watched expectantly for the next car to streak past.

Eying a speeding car, she held her sign that read “Free Kittens” high over her head and waved it in the morning sun. To draw even more attention to her message, she enthusiastically hopped up and down.

Who could resist her?

One feline fancier couldn’t. The first to go was the little gold-haired male. With a peck on his nose, Pageau handed the baby over to its new owner. Four females are left.

Watch for the youngster if you travel on Route 1 in Columbia. With a campaign manager like Ashley, all of the kittens are candidates for a good home.