On the wall of an anteroom in Somerville's City Hall is a plaque, dated January 16, 1952, that reads:

"Whereas we have been delightfully informed with the pleasant news of the arrival of the fourth bundle of joy at the Capuano household...someday, little brother will be the mayor of our great city."

The prophecy of that Somerville alderperson did not go far enough. For the "fourth bundle of joy," young Michael E. Capuano, would eventually be more than a mayor.

In this month's general election, Capuano secured the Congressional seat representing Massachusetts's Eighth District, left vacant when Joseph P. Kennedy II announced his retirement earlier this year.

The Eighth includes all of Cambridge.

To hear him tell it, Michael Capuano is a simple man. His constituents say he has a sense of what the people want and an even greater sense of what he's able to do for them.

To some of his political opponents, Capuano embodies all that is wrong with small-town politicians. His Republican opponent in the November election has alleged ethical blemishes and accuses him of ignoring the city's black vote.

Capuano gave The Crimson an extensive interview, in which he discussed his tenure as Somerville mayor and his thoughts on the 106th United States Congress.

Meet Mike

Capuano graduated from Somerville High School in 1969. He attended Dartmouth, earning a B.A. in psychology in 1974. During his first year of law school at Boston College, he married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Teebagy.

A newly-minted lawyer in 1978, Capuano spent his first years as a public servant working for the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Massachusetts Legislature, quickly rising to the post of chief counsel for the committee.

At the same time, he represented Somerville as an alderperson.

Through the 1980s, Capuano made a name for himself among his constituents in Somerville and Democrats throughout the state.

In 1989, he was elected mayor of Somerville, and voters re-elected him four times. His accomplishments can be summed up in the obsolescence of the word "Slummerville." What was once a collection of family neighborhoods bordered by falling-down commercial areas and struggling industrial parks became a haven for young professionals.

Capuano says the greening of Somerville is among his proudest accomplishments.