"I used to have a little code of honor that I wouldn't campaign in certain wards because certain people would live there," Danehy says. But now, he adds, "I'm campaigning anywhere and everywhere."
CCA-endorsed candidates tend to run citywide campaigns. Incumbent David E. Sullivan, the most vocal champion of rent control, spent the summer recruiting "captains" in rent-controlled buildings to campaign among tenants and register them to vote.
Only about 1000 Harvard students are registered to vote in Cambridge, but Sullivan plans to campaign vigorously at the University. He says the precinct that includes Harvard Yard has always been among the most fruitful for him.
Sullivan is especially hard at work because he has a challenger with almost the same name, but very different opinions. David J. Sullivan, 26, first attracted political attention last year when he expressed outrage at rent control laws that barred him from buying his grandfather's house.
David E. charged earlier this summer that opponents of rent control had sponsored David J.'s entry into the race to confuse voters, using a tactic as old as Bay State politics.
Facing challenges to prove his allegation, David E. recently said, "I've just decided to withdraw the charge because the evidence was given to me in confidence."
Walsh, rent control's chief opponent in the race, describes the eponymous challenger as "a very independent character on his own, he's a kid who's mad over the situation."
TV Time
When the City Council returns from its summer recess, the campaigns will get another boost. The Monday night gatherings bring local politicos together to warm the benches in Sullivan Chamber. Whether in or out of office, they frequently offer their opinions for the benefit of the coucilors and the new cable television cameras.
Some incumbents--notably Thomas W. Danehy, with his frequent references to "our viewing audience"--have aimed bursts of oratory at the airwaves. Many onlookers blamed this newfound eloquence for the unusual length of last spring's meetings.