That year he placed 11th in the race for nine Council seats. Thompson ran again in 1981, but the CCA refused him an endorsement, calling his stands on rent control ambiguous. He came in 12th.

Frances Cooper, a CCA school committee member, says she supports Graham for her experience. "I don't want to make a negative comment on Al Thompson," she says, but adds that he "has no elected experience that I know of." Cooper adds, "I'm having a hard time seeing how he could jump in [the race] without that experience."

Albano argues that Thompson has no political accomplishments or clear platform issues, calling him "nebulous on rent control" and insincere on gay rights. "The only thing he's done is come out and attack us," he adds.

But Thompson rejects Albano's charges, and asserts that he has years of community experience stemming from his candidacy in the 1964 Democratic primary race for state representative. He came in 5th at the age of 24.

His platform in the '64 race was "Save the Sycamores," referring to a line of trees along Memorial Drive.

Thompson adds that he "showed Saundra Graham how to read the Budget Book when she became a City Councillor in 1971." He says he took her to the library and explained it to her.

"I was there helping her all along," Thompson says, and, in 1979, "she told me I'd make a good candidate for state representative."

"She said she'd support me," he added.

Albano labels this simply "more rhetoric," and says Graham "would have never said that to him." He adds, "Saundra Graham and Alvin Thompson do not sit on the same side of the street in this town."

In 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Thompson says he chaired the Cambridge Black Citizens Committee (CBC) that formed to fight local racism. At that time, he says, "Blacks were not allowed to ride in police cars," and Thompson worked with James Vaughnberg of the CCA to integrate police cars.

Thompson also says he has worked with Graham since 1970, when they cooperated in an effort to calm the race rioting in April through June and September through November of that year. He also worked with her from 1970 to 1982 as assistant to the city manager for community relations, he said.

In that post, Thompson says, he "was involved with" minority hiring of teachers, police, nurses. He adds, "There have been five superintendents of schools since 1970...I have always been on the screening committees."

Although Thompson has had a lot of experience with civil rights and minority issues, he says his "concern will be the district's needs." The 28th Middlesex district is 97 percent white, Thompson says, and mostly "middle-class, blue-collar, and students."

Since Graham lost the Democratic primary, she has been running a sticker campaign against Thompson because her name no longer appears on the ballot. The nominee says he has hired a lawyer "because we think there will be some legal problems."

The lawyer, Thompson says, told his campaign staff how to deal with a possible "challenge on ballots." His main concerns are the incorrect use of stickers and "violence at the polls," he says. Thompson says he wants to know whether a vote will count if the Graham sticker is on, but the ballot is also punched next to his name, or if the sticker is falling off. Thompson asks, "is that a good ballot?"