"I'm running because I'm a democrat and I think that the city government has to do a better job serving the community," Pitkin says.

If elected he says he would work to make city services accessible to all residents by recording every request for service and then reporting these requests to the city council.

"Currently," Pitkin says, "Requests end up in the equivalent of a dead letter office."

Pitkin says he also hopes Harvard will become a better Cambridge neighbor.

"I'm certainly an advocate of setting higher standards for institutions of higher education in the Cambridge community," Pitkin says.

Ron Potvin, 30, says he's the only Republican running for Cambridge City Council.

"I'm pro-development and pro-business and I understand the importance of commercial interest in the city," says Potvin, who is endorsed by the Alliance for Charge.

Potvin would like Harvard to be more involved with the city. However, he says that the key to the city's financial stability is not greater contributions from Harvard but a larger tax base and more fiscal prudence.

Potvin, who was born and brought up in Cambridgeport, is opposed to rent control in its current form.

George A. Spartichino is says he hopes to garner the family vote on November 2.

"I think that there is a lack of support for families," Spartichino says.

Spartichino says he has refused campaign contributions for his campaign so that he may stay "truly independent." In this as in the last election, he did not accept endorsements and finished "a quiet 14th."

Although Spartichino says he has been very impressed with the Harvard students he has met, he says he is often frustrated by the University's encroachment upon outlying neighborhoods.

Michael A. Sullivan says his election would continue a long standing city council tradition. His father, Walter J. Sullivan, served on the council for 34 years and decided this year not to run for reelection.

Sullivan, who lives in Mid-Cambridge on Putnam Ave., says he hopes to bring consensus to a divided city council.