Like the song says, he's young, gifted, and black. Henry F. Owens has worked harder than the rest of the field in trying to get people to vote for him, partly because his is not a household name in Cambridge (like Vellucci or Sullivan), but mostly because he really wants to be a Cambridge City Councillor. And the effort just may pay off.

Like most of the Council candidates, Owens isn't overly specific when he outlines his program for Cambridge: more housing, increased neighborhood participation in city government, an overhaul of the rent control system, police decentralization, budget trimmings through more efficient financial management.

But Owens is sincere in his efforts, and he has the energy and training to move Cambridge towards at least some of these goals.

Owens charges that the city government has not been responsive to the needs of its poor, and that the city has refused to use any muscle against Harvard and MIT.

"Harvard hasn't done a damn thing for this community," he charged. "The money which Harvard and MIT give to the city doesn't compare with the services they receive from the city."

Owens argued that the main financial consideration for the future of Cambridge will be the continuing tax exempt status of much of Cambridge's most valuable property.

He further argued that Harvard and MIT have to be involved in any housing programs for the city because of the "unusual demand" which students have put on the small housing market here in Cambridge.

Owens, as one might suspect, favors rent control, but feels that the present system based on "fair market value," should be revised, and that another system of evaluation be substituted. He did not elaborate, however.

Owens favors day care, but only if the city does not run it. Day care has to be community controlled, he argues, for it to be of any value to those citizens who most need it.

Owens' list of credentials is impressive, and shows a genuine concern for life in Cambridge. He is a director of the Cambridge Y.M.C.A., a director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Afro-American Cultural Center, as evaluator of O.E.O. Legal Service Programs, and a general counsel to the Boston N.A.A.C.P.