But Healy says the difference between the two is mostly "stylistic." His goal--to run a financially stable city by focusing development in small areas--is the same. And he adds that he does not get involved in large-scale urban planning debates.

"Jim Sullivan told me this in 1971--one thing a city manager stays out of is zoning debates," Healy says.

Neither manager has much sympathy for the legions of community groups formed to fight development projects.

"There's no such thing as two sides to a question in Cambridge," says Sullivan. "There's 15 sides to every question, and each side is led by a Harvard or MIT professor."

And Healy says that the same people who complain about his role also want the best school and health systems, the lowest property taxes and a halt to development.

The city manager says he is proud of his administrative record. Under his tenure, the city has received the highest possible credit ratings, and a state agency recently commended Cambridge for excellence in financial reporting.

So the problem, Duehay says, may be sharp divisions on the city council, instead of an overly powerful city manager.

Since the early 1970s, the council has been split between candidates running on the liberal Cambridge Civic Association (CCA) platform and those running as independents. Although the independents currently hold a 5-4 majority, independent Mayor Vellucci often sides with the CCA, producing an uneasy balance of power between the parties.

As a result, Duehay--a CCA-backed councillor--says Healy becomes a scapegoat for unpopular policies.

"If the City Council were less pro-development, the city manager would follow suit," he says, adding that while he has frequently criticized Healy, he approves of his overall performance.

"I have been very critical of the city manager's environmental review procedures and policies," says Duehay. "I have criticisms of other areas that I feel need to improve, but I feel they would improve faster if we had a different coalition on the city council.