SOMERVILLE--Now that its former mayor, new Representative Michael C. Capuano (D-Somerville), has moved to Washington, the city that borders Cambridge is gearing up for a special mayoral election primary on March 30.

Somerville's pool of registered voters makes up little more than half of its 75,000-person population, with the vast majority registered as Democrats.

But the fierceness of political rivalries in Somerville belies the apparent political apathy of its residents.

"My sense is that in Somerville...it's not enough to defeat your enemy," says David Nyhan '62, a longtime city resident. "You have to pull his gizzard out and eat his spleen."

The mayoral race features city Aldermen John Buonomo and Joe Curtatone, in addition to Dorothy Kelly Gay, a former member of the Governor's Council.

These three Democrats are the candidates to watch, having worked hard at fundraising and rallying support since Capuano's departure.

Two other contenders, Republican Philip Hyde, who lost to Capuano in this fall's Congressional election, and 21-year-old political neophyte Matthew Hoey, who attended Somerville High School but did not matriculate, entered the fray relatively late. Somerville pundits discount their chances for success at the ballot box.

Because of the city's overwhelming Democratic majority, the electoral debates will focus on issues rather than partisanship, according to Mary Goldstein-Gelb, a Somerville volunteer activist.

"The mayoral race is not very political," she says. "People are concerned with issues instead of party affiliations."

Each of the three major candidates appears to have lined up a core constituency early in the contest.

While Gay boasts she is the choice of organized labor, Curtatone has defined himself in opposition to former Mayor Capuano, and Buonomo has won the backing of many current city workers and elected officials.

Ethnicity and Education

Recognizing Somerville's large proportion of Hispanic residents, the mayoral candidates have all emphasized multiculturalism in their campaigns.

Curtatone has proposed to create a municipal cultural affairs office with workers fluent in languages like Portuguese and Spanish, which are spoken by many in the city.

Buonomo, who formerly served as Somerville's human services director, offers an alternative solution.