Duehay cites his platform's focus on issues such as public safety and the environment as elements that students might find particularly appealing.

Councillor Timothy J. Toomey says the student vote takes a "major role" in his campaign.

"I try to reach out to every voter," Toomey says.

Toomey cites his record of support for hiring more police officers and firefighters as a reason for students to support him in this year's elections.

On one issue, however, Harvard students may disagree with Toomey.

"I will state quite frankly what I believe. Long-term Cambridge residents should have priority for rent-controlled housing," Toomey says.

James McSweeney, a non-incumbent candidate for the council, also places high priority on the student vote, according to his campaign manager, David L. K. Trumbull.

"In our last campaign two years ago, we did very well. At that time no special effort was made to target the student vote," Trumbull says. "This year, the student effort is integral."

Trumbull cites McSweeney's appearances at a Quincy House voter registration drive and at a Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club meeting as examples of McSweeney's effort to reach student voters.

McSweeney's call for 24 hour public transportation, as well as his plans to make Cambridge more bicycle-friendly, are platform planks students should find appealing, Trumbull says.

Several city council candidates profess interest in the student vote but say they do not depend very heavily on it.

Kathy Born, a non-incumbent seeking election to the council, says she is alsomaking substantial effort to contact students,even though they lie outside her primaryconstituency.

"We're reaching out to students throughrepresentatives in almost every House," Born says."We're distributing leaflets and mailing to newlyregistered student voters. We're trying to targetcollege women who want progressive femalecandidates."

Born cites her campaign's theme of"inventiveness and wisdom" as an appealing featureto students, and says she looks forward tolearning more about student concerns.

"As a mother of three children in theirtwenties, I have a lot to learn from people ofthis age," Born says.