One important bit of the answer is: we absolutely don't care. We place sites for the directory user's convenience, and what search engines do with it is irrelevant.
The second bit of the answer is: it can't hurt because: a regional listing doesn't keep you from being considered for, and getting, a general listing also (if one is appropriate, as it would be for a global business).
For purely practical considerations, regional listings tend to get reviewed more quickly: there are more editors interested in listing their neighbors than there are in listing their competitors. (So small regional categories may be very quickly edited, while some large Business categories languish in limbo.)
So, if you're interested in an ODP listing for the sake of the search engine effect (whatever that might be--we don't officially know), and you have a local focus (place of business/hiring/etc.), then definitely suggest the site to the appropriate locality. And someone will probably edit it -- not because they care one whit about your site's search engine positioning, but because they want to have a complete list of their town's websites.
