Galluccio says his background, as well as his skills in policy-making, allow him to connect well with Cambridge residents.

"[Cambridge is] one of the richest/poorest, educated/uneducated districts you'll find in the country," Galluccio says.

What Cambridge needs, he says, is a "policy person who can connect with working people."

Galluccio says he's the right candidate to fill the seat once occupied by former Massachusetts House Speaker Charles Flaherty and the late U.S. House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill.

On the surface, the Wolf and Galluccio platforms seem identical.

Both campaigns have targeted education and affordable housing as key issues to be addressed in the legislature.

But according to Wolf Campaign Manager Marjorie C. Decker, Wolf's years of experience make her the more qualified candidate.

Decker says, "[housing and education] are not campaign issues, they're her life's work."

According to Decker, Galluccio has only recently joined the affordable housing band--wagon, and has no record of supporting affordable housing initiatives on the City Council.

"Alice Wolf has a record of working for over 20 years in these issues," she says.

Wolf is an active supporter of the Housing Bond Bill, which has been passed in the House and the Senate and is up for a final vote this year.

The bill will channel funding toward several housing developments in Cambridge as well as to elderly, disabled and low-income residents who may be in danger of becoming homeless.

But some of Wolf's constituents are unhappy with her record on housing.

Pat Casola, president of the Tenant Association of Fresh Pond Apartments, is a supporter of Galluccio, although she supported Wolf two years ago.

"In two years the housing [in my development] has gotten worse not better," she says.