Russell has a lot to gain if the Alliance candidates, previously bound together simply by the title "independents," earn a majority of seats on the council.

"It's may turn to be mayor," she says. "I'm going to actively campaign for it, as I'm the senior member of the so-called independents.'"

Duehay, who is endorsed by the CCA, says the Alliance is "indistinguishable" from the CCA on many issues.

But he says it is impractical to elect a citycouncil that will work to reach consensus on allissues, as the Alliance hopes to do.

"There are obvious times when differences haveto be highlighted," he says. "You can't just havepeople who will agree with the lowest commondenominator."

Predictions, Anyone?

Given the apparent fall and resurgence of theCCA as well as the efforts by the Alliance,candidates and observers are finding this year'smunicipal elections difficult to predict.

"From the outside looking in, it looks like allhas not been rosy with the CCA," Russell says."But I would never count them out as being afactor in the election."

But Duehay says be believes the CCA may notearn a majority of seats on either the schoolcommittee or the city council.

"I have some feeling that the CCA is going tohave a tough time winning this campaign," Duehaysays. "It could really blast out the followingcampaign."

The senior CCA councillor says that whilerecent signs indicate the CCA is gaining instrength, it will take time for the organizationto improve.

"All of the sudden it has begun to turnaround," Duehay says. "But the people who arethinking about becoming candidates for office forthe first time don't turn around in 30 days."

But Duehay qualifies his observations bysaying, "I've never been very good atpredictions."

Gintell says he does not know how the electionwill turn out, given the changes of the past year.

"I don't think Cambridge is going to go likethe rest of the country and start becomingconservative, but this is a very different year,"he says. "We have all these changes on thenational and state level."

And David L.K. Trumbull, chair of the RepubicanCity Committee, says says the CCA will havedifficulty recruiting voters to support itscandidates now that rent control no longer exists.