A slate creates a foundation of common ideas from which the council members can begin to tackle important problems facing the city, Malenfant said.

"We interview [potential candidates], and if they more or less agree with our positions, then we can give them our backing," said Malenfant. "We don't want to impose dictatorial control."

This election season is important because it will indicate the direction that the council will take in the wake of rent control, but it is impossible to predict what new issues may emerge, said Koocher.

"I have been watching Cambridge elections for 35 years, and I wouldn't call it," said Koocher. "The council is going to be concerned with some real fine-line esoteric issues."

The candidates have offered an indication of what issues are going to concern them in their next term.

The end of rent control combined with a decrease in federal housing aid is going to have a major impact on the city, said Duehay.

"Cambridge has historically been open to people of all incomes and backgrounds," said Duehay. "We have always been an immigrant city, and now we have to try to prevent people from lower to middle-class backgrounds from being squeezed out."

One method of providing affordable housing is through a citizen-generated down-zoning proposal that would tighten restrictions on the height of new buildings, said Davis. Many liberal councillors have warned against the "gentrification" of the city and of the forcing out of lower-income Cantabrigians by more affluent residents.

"It is important to note that the council has been working on a bi-partisan basis to create this housing, and the election will simply be about choosing one vision over another," said Davis.

It is important to realize that there are some problems within the community despite its appearance of economic health, said Galluccio.

"Thirty percent of Cambridge residents have some form of a graduate degree and 16 percent did not graduate from high school, said Galluccio. "There is a huge disparity between the city's wealthy population and its poor. We need to build a business base to support people of all educational backgrounds."

Galluccio also pointed out that Cambridge spends more per student than any other school district in the state, but it does not perform as well as some of the neighboring districts.

"Even though we probably spend $4,000 more per student, Borckton has higher SAT scores," said Gallucio. "The high school has an 18 percent out-of-school suspension rate. There is the stereotype that we have one of the better school districts in the state, but we obviously have to do something."

The most important concern of voters, is their wallets, and they are going to vote with an eye toward fiscal responsibility, said Toomey.

"An official in Watertown said to me that there has already been a large number of Cambridge residents moving there," said Toomey. "People are going to have a closer view on what the city is spending, and we are the ones with control over the budget."