A day before tomorrow's city election, many observers say they expect to see a battle between two progressive candidates and a conservative for two seats on the nine-person Cambridge City Council.

At stake in tomorrow's election is whether the progressive Cambridge Civic Association (CCA) will retain its one-vote majority on the city council or if the balance of power will shift to the conservative Alliance for Change.

The abolition of rent control, a drop of 4,000 registered voters since the last election and the emergence of the Alliance slate are all factors which may make this election the closest in recent history.

Many feel Alliance-backed James J. McSweeney, Jr. will be vying with CCA-endorsed candidates Henrietta A. Davis and Kathleen L. Born for the final positions.

Born barely captured the ninth seat in 1993, edging out McSweeney by 47 votes, while Davis led the ticket in the school committee race that year.

"Many feel Born is not an effective councillor and is vulnerable," said Donald L.K. Trumbull, chair of the Cambridge Republican Committee. "Rent control--her big issue--is gone, so she has had to find a new base."

"Henrietta Davis has historically done well in the neighborhoods where Born has been successful, but she has a base of voters much larger than the number who voted for Born," he said.

McSweeney said that he expects to benefit from a "conservative swing" among voters. "People are just looking for new ideas and more creativity," he said.

The Reeves Factor

Under a unique proportional voting system, Cambridge voters can pick several candidates and rank their votes in order of preference. The leftover votes are then distributed to other candidates.

Transfer votes from supporters of Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72, who many consider guaranteed re-election, could tip the scales in favor of the CCA candidates.

Reeves commands a loyal following among his supporters, who include "blacks, gays and whites across the city," and his surplus votes might be split in a variety of directions, according to former councillor William H. Walsh, who was forced off the council last spring after being convicted of embezzle ment charges.

Campaign aides to the mayor said they are instructing his supporters to also vote for Davis and Born.

"This will be very interesting. Ken commands intense loyalty," Walsh said. "But you can never be certain once people get inside the voting booth."

'Race Is Tightening'

Because incumbents historically enjoy notoriously high re-election rates, much attention has focused on the council's one open seat--created by CCA-endorsed Jonathan S. Meyers' decision to step down after six years of service--and on the seat currently held by Born.