"The CCA has less control now than ever," saysRobert Winters, who ran unsuccessfully for acouncil seat in 1993 and was endorsed by theAlliance. "It's always been something of a battlebetween the organization and its councillors, asthe councillors try to retain their ownindependence while the CCA organization tries toassert its own control."

Minority relations are also plaguing theorganization. Reeves alienated the CCA when he ranfor a second term as mayor in 1993, defying theboard's hopes of rotating the mayorship andinstalling Duehay as mayor.

Instead, Reeves allied himself with the fourindependent councillors, and rewarded one of them,Sheila T. Russell, with the office of vice mayor.

Despite Reeves' estrangement from the CCA,observers agree he has successfully consolidatedhis support on the council while weathering apolitical storm over ceremonial spending.

"The CCA, I predict, will get little supportfrom the minority community, because of the waythey treated Ken Reeves," Winters says. "I don'tbelieve any organization has the right to dictateterms such as that to an elected official."

Some have also wondered whether Reeves'departure from the CCA fold may lead the way forother defections. "Ken Reeves obviously feels thatit's safe to run on his own merits, so I don'tknow why Duehay, Born and Triantafillou can't runon their own merits, seek out their constituentsand make a pitch on their positions and issues,"said one city official, who spoke on the conditionof anonymity.

Dowds said the CCA is still assembling its 1995board of directors, who will ultimately decide whothe group will endorse. But whoever thecandidates, it is certain they will face stiffcompetition for control of the council.

The Alliance: The New Ruling Party?

The Alliance for Change was formed in July 1993to promote a slate of candidates for the November1993 City Council and School Committee elections.Of its nine council endorsements, three--Russell,Michael A. Sullivan and Timothy J. Toomey Jr.--wonseats on the council. And the December appointmentof Anthony D. Galluccio to succeed Walsh on thecouncil brought the number of Alliance candidatesto four.

O'Connell says the Alliance has between 200 and300 paid members, and that its meetings have drawnaround 40 Cantabrigians a month. Reeves has spokenat an Alliance meeting, but is not a member,O'Connell says.

The Alliance advocates no political position,O'Connell said in an interview last week. "Theplatform is found in the positions the candidatesstake out," he says. O'Connell says the group'smission is "to try to end divisiveness andgridlock in City Hall" while engaging in "dialogueand consensus-building."

But the Alliance's professed neutrality hasdrawn attacks from many politicians and CCAsupporters, who say the new group is engaging inpolitics as usual.

"You cannot be an organization that claims tobe about change without being willing to definewhat that change is," Cyr says. "They have atheory that you shouldn't have an agenda. Itdoesn't make sense. How is a voter to decide whatthe issues are that separate this slate fromanother?"

"The statement that we want civility ingovernment is a nice one, but civility is not anend to the purpose of government," Cyr adds."Policy is."

Galluccio disagrees. He says the essence of theAlliance lies in promoting non-partisanship. "TheAlliance's biggest goal was to elect andindependent City Council, which means that you'renot tied down to a political platform that'sdictated to you, that you will go in, issue byissue, and decide what's best for the city."