The CCA members agreed to support Russell, with the exception of Triantafillou.

"Kathleen...was somewhat hesitant about our conclusions," Duehay said.

In order to balance the selection of Alliance-endorsed Russell, the CCA members wanted to put forward one of their own for vice chair, the number two position on the council.

Duehay, the senior member of the CCA and the council, did not want the spot.

"That is a very good way to get visibility, but that takes time away from city business," he said. "That isn't the way I want to spend my time."

Two candidates were put forward: Born and Triantafillou.

"It was up in the air until late on Sunday afternoon," Born said.

But the CCA chose Born--"They realized that I had a good relationship with Mayor Russell," she said.

Perhaps Duehay remembered another Cambridge mayoral race, not of the 80's but of the 40's. In the election of 1948, City Councillor Ed Crane crossed party lines after 1,321 deadlocked ballots to elect Councillor Michael J. Neville mayor.

Like Duehay, Crane declined the vice chair's seat, and in the city election of 1949, the "Mayor-Maker" was reelected by a landslide. Riding the wave of his popularity, Crane was elected governor in