"He lobbied for it, but that was such a weak home-rule petition, one that was dictated by Flaherty, who was influenced by the landlords," says Lee.

"I thought he could have been stronger," Lee adds. "I don't think he really believed in the usefulness of rent control. He was not very prominent in the struggle."

Thompson, however, says his hands were tied by the threat of Gov. William F. Weld '66 to veto anything more than a scant handful of protections.

"What was there for me to fight for?" Thompson asks. "We tried to work out a compromise but the word coming from the governor was that he was going to veto the bill altogether. What were we to do?"

"It was the best compromise we could have gotten at that time," says Thompson, adding that city government and rent control are to blame for not enacting reforms to the bloated rent-control bureaucracy sooner.

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 also defends Thompson's handling of the rent control political battles, saying the stance he adopted was realistic.

"I would absolutely say he was a leader," Reeves says. "He tried to breathe some reality therapy on things, to let people know what was and was not possible."

Thompson, however, might also be the target of political flak resulting from the decision of the supermarket chain Stop and Shop to abandon its site on Memorial Drive.

Once the only supermarket serving Cambridgeport and Riverside, Stop and Shop's plans to expand its site and build a superstore were derailed last summer when the City Council refused to grant it a zoning permit. Many residents are currently without a market within walking distance.

Thompson did not push for the granting permit, and critics say he sided with Flaherty's view that increased traffic on Memorial Drive made expansion undesirable.

"There could be some fallout from the Stop and Shop situation, from people angry in general," Koocher says.

Lee agrees. "The supermarket is gone, and Alvin didn't do anything to keep it," Lee says. "Alvin certainly did not do enough to keep Stop and Shop in Cambridge."

Koocher, however, says Thompson has had to toe Flaherty's line because of political realities. "Even if the most strident of political liberals were elected, you know damn well they'd be sucking up to Charles Flaherty, because he's the speaker," Koocher says. "You don't want the district to suffer because you're not supporting the leadership."

Political Future

Observers differ not only on Thompson's political past, but on his political future.