Beeks has lived in Cambridge since 1973. She has been raising two of her grandsons since the death of one of her daughters in 1991 and received an award for her work for surviving children of an AIDS victim.

Thomas W. Beer, 49, says he doesn't have an agenda.

"If I'm elected to city council, I'll try to treat everybody with respect, listen to all sides of the question, make up my own mind and work with the rest of the city council to make the city better," Beer says.

A life-long Cambridge resident who supports rent control, Beer is not endorsed by any civic groups.

He also says he doesn't have any money to campaign, so he is making his own signs.

Kathy Born, an architect, says running for city council is a natural step in a life of civic involvement.

A resident of Cambridge for 25 years, Born has worked with Cambridge Citizens for Livable Neighborhoods and the Harvard Square Defense Fund. She is now endorsed by the progressive Cambridge Civic Association (CCA).

The 47-year-old Avon Hill resident says she would devote her time on the council to environmental, family and neighborhood preservation issues as well as securing housing, food and human rights for her constituents.

Born says rent control "is here to stay" and should be made to "work as well as possible."

She also says she supports having councillors represent districts, and she would voluntary limit her service on the council to two terms.

When Edward N. Cyr was elected to city council in 1989, his presence on the council guaranteed the progressive majority which now often determines city policy.

Cyr, who says he found his political roots while working as a community organizer in his home neighborhood of north Cambridge, wrote the city's ethics ordinance and helped to write rules for the city's parking freeze.

While not serving in his capacity as vice-mayor, Cyr is finance director of Chelsea, Mass. Cyr says that as chair of Cambridge's finance committee he has helped to cut the rate of growth in fiscal spending almost in half.

Although Cyr says he is satisfied with Cambridge finance, he finds fault with Harvard's role in the city's economy.

First, Cyr says Harvard's payment in lieu of taxes to the city is insufficient because many of the University's buildings are being used for private research purposes which should not be tax exempt.