snip...
"I submitted under a heading only to learn 3 months later that the #3 player in my market was the editor."

This is actually very similar to what I encountered.

I submitted my site and waited and waited and waited. while do 1=1 {wait();} endwhile

After several months - I tried submitting the site again.

I wrote several a complaints to DMOZ - and after several months... finally received a rejection letter stating my site didn't "fit the category".

After this - I submitted another site we had - under the same categories... but one that no one (in my industry knew about yet) - and the site was accepted - in all categories - within days.

A couple months later... I found out that the Editor for the categories I requested... was the owner of the #1 position website.

I have also had this issue with Yahoo... have since found out a Yahoo Editor (I think that's what they are called in Yahoo also) was a "friend" with the owner of the website in the #1 position - the same website which was listed in the #1 position of DMOZ.

You would think dirty tactics like this could not occur.