Among the city "resources" that Sullivan uses are the City Hall custodial crews who clean the campaign headquarters, located in a warehouse near Fresh Pond, a person close to the campaign said.

But campaign director Vin Maloney in a recent interview refuted that claim, saying that city crews clean and wax the floors "after hours and without pay."

Maloney, a former city editor of the Providence Journal and media coordinator for Kevin White's 1970 gubernatorial bid here, said Sullivan may be relying too heavily on his Cambridge base to propel him to higher office.

"But we've been able to set up coordinators in every community in this county," he said. "We've been getting volunteers from all over."

One Revere woman said she joined the Sullivan campaign to seek out connections that would land her a permanent job. She used to work as a secretary in a Boston law office, but lost her job when the office closed.

An attorney at the office told her to work for Sullivan's campaign "to meet the right people and to find a job," the woman explained.

Maloney said he has tried to keep the campaign "clean and above board" by insisting that City Hall employees not work at the Fresh Pond headquarters during business hours. He emphasized that no one has defied that rule.

"All the labor is volunteered," Maloney said. "I'm the lone salaried person in this campaign." Maloney earns $200 a week plus commissions for selling advertisements.

Last week, Maloney said $17,000 had been spent on the campaign so far and that a $60,000 expenditure has been projected for the November election.

Maloney and his staff held a $100-a-couple dinner in Framingham last month to offset the expenses. They plan to hold a few $5 dinners in the coming month. Maloney added that other community groups may plan fund-raisers of their own, but that the headquarters will not assume an active planning role.

When asked about fund-raising activities, Sullivan himself said: "There are so many things going on, I really can't say."

Sullivan apparently does not have a large campaign chest or extensive financial resources. He claimed total assets of $108,736 and a net worth of $51,800 in tax statements he made public Aug. 28.

The income statements showed earnings of $30,321 for last year, from the following sources: City Council salary, $6500; Middlesex court clerk salary, $17,255; salary as an officer of M.A. Sullivan Trucking Co., $679; salary as vice president of Charlesbank Trust Co., $2684; dividends and interest, $1819; and rental income, $1364.

Sullivan paid $4349 in taxes last year and gave $4000 to charities, the statements showed.

On the issues, Sullivan says he can "restore sensible administration" to the sheriff's office by hiring a professional master for the State House of Corrections and by eliminating needless programs from the office budget.