‘Apprentice’ becomes hunt for Ms. Right

updated 5:41 p.m. ET May 19, 2005

NEW YORK - So who’ll be Ms. Right for Donald Trump?

During the live finale of NBC’s “The Apprentice” Thursday, The Donald will decide between two female candidates: Kendra Todd, the 26-year-old “book smarts” real estate broker from Boynton Beach, Fla., or Tana Goertz, the 37-year-old “street smarts” entrepreneur from Des Moines.

So who’s Ms. Right?

The three previously fired third-season candidates — lawyers Bren Olswanger, Alex Thomason and business owner Craig Williams — have conflicting opinions on the final two. Thomason and Williams choose Goertz while Olswanger believes Todd, who orchestrated the Best Buy Video Game Championship during her final task, has the passion Trump desires.

“Kendra is my favorite,” Olswanger told The Associated Press upon his dismissal. “Kendra, Alex and I were the bedrock of the Magna team. Kendra is extremely intelligent, sly and crafty. Those are the type of qualities I think Trump is interested in.”

Thomason doesn’t agree.

“Kendra is the most risk-averse person I’ve ever met,” he said after he was fired. “The first seven tasks, Kendra took no risks. There was no involvement.”

During her final task, Goertz organized the NYC2012 Athlete Challenge, promoting New York as a future site for the Olympics, but she failed to find an American flag, proofread the event’s program and manage her team of misfit fired contestants. Those fumbles seemed like a departure for Goertz, who scored during earlier endeavors.

“She’s a hard worker,” said Thomason. “She’s very creative. She’s easy to get along with. You know what? That is important.”

“She’s been a successful businesswoman in several different arenas,” said Williams. “She has some depth that Kendra doesn’t. Kendra is young.”

Online odds

FREE VIDEO Trump talks May 17: Donald Trump talks to MSNBC’s Alison Stewart about his show. MSNBC

On the Internet, Todd has a slight edge over Goertz. Citing each candidate’s performance throughout the season with an emphasis on the final tasks, online bookie PinnacleSports.com gives Todd 1:4 odds to win while Goertz only has 7:2 odds. And in an online poll at Yahoo! with nearly 20,000 votes, 78 percent favor Todd to win solely based on the final tasks. However, on the official “Apprentice” Web site, respondents are more mixed: 51 percent rooting for Goertz and 49 for Todd at press time.

But when it comes down to “you’re hired,” it doesn’t matter what firees, bookies or poll respondents think. That decision lies with Trump alone — although the mogul’s first “Apprentice” has his own opinions.

Bill Rancic, who recently signed on to continue working on the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, said Todd is a “sharp girl” but Goertz reminds him more of himself.

“She’s a hustler,” Rancic said. “She’s earned the respect of her teammates. She’s delivered victories. At the end of the day, it’s about results. That was kind of my strategy. I kept my mouth shut, worked hard, kept my nose to the grindstone and delivered week after week after week.”

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