Connor, who owns a small consulting business, says he is the only candidate whose background as an inventor and musician differentiates him from the other candidates.

"I am a well-rounded person. I'm not like some of the lawyers running, who were undergraduates, then law students," Connor says. "I have lived on the other side of the fence."

Connor is strongly opposed to the Sheraton parking lot saying "just because you need a parking lot, doesn't mean you get one."

"The proposal is to tear down historical houses for parking, and I don't think that is necessarily a good idea," Connor says. "We've got to value our residents more than we do."

Henrietta A. Davis, an eight-year member of the Cambridge School Committee, is making her first run for the city council.

"I'd like to continue in public service, and this seems like the most obvious place to make a difference," Davis says.

The Cambridgeport resident is pushing a 10-point plan which calls for an improved economic development plan, the expansion of affordable housing, renewed commitment to affirmative action, the establishment of a large supermarket in Cambridge and a nationwide search for a new police commissioner.

Davis, 50, says she is proud to have helped implement the Healthy Children Task Force, which provides health care and immunizations for Cambridge youth.

If historic buildings are to be demolished; Davis says, she would like the architects to protect the building's original facade whenever possible.

She also opposes Harvard's proposed removal of 700 apartments from the city's housing market.

"I'm hoping Harvard will act like a model landlord rather than a for-profit business," Davis says.

Francis H. Duehay '55, says he hopes voters will return him to a thirteenth term on the council.

Duchay says that ensuring environmental protection, accessible health care and affordable housing will be the main issues in the city's immediate future.

"Cambridge will have fewer federal resources, but we must not abandon the needy, and we must try to reduce costs," he says.

Duehay, 62, also supports a nationwide search for a new police commissioner and opposes residency requirements for city employees.