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.

Rather than introduce a new office, Buonomo has proposed that the city hire translators in all of its existing departments that deal with immigrants.

Buonomo boasts of real-life success diversifying Somerville's pool of government workers.

"While they may talk about hiring people from different backgrounds, I've actually done it," Buonomo says.

In proposing her solution to diversity problems, Gay attempts to combine a commitment to women's issues with a broad paean to diversity.

"We need more women, Asians, Latinos, African-Americans, lesbians and gay men," Gay said at a candidate pot-luck dinner and debate in January.

"We bring all sides to the table...including those who have not traditionally been included," Gay said in a recent interview with The Crimson.

All the candidates are emphasizing their commitment to education, though each has a different vision of how to improve Somerville's schools.

Though the state has been shifting toward making bilingual educational optional, all of the candidates insist on maintaining these programs in Somerville.

Buonomo has stressed he does not believe inlevel-service budgeting for schools, a methodwhich restricts funding to the amount that willprevent services from dropping off year-to-year.

He says that city students' disappointingscores on the statewide Massachusetts tests thisfall highlight the need for reforming Somerville'sschool system.

"Not everyone [in the city] goes on tocollege," Buonomo says. "Good vocational andtechnical training would improve job opportunitiesfor those who do not go on to college." He alsosays he is committed to making the administrativeranks of the schools better reflect the students.

Economics

In the context of Somerville's welfare-to-workprogram, Gay has expressed concern for therepresentation of women in industrial jobs likeconstruction work. She advocates making surefemale former welfare recipients are steeredtoward non-clerical vocational positions.

While Gay has plans to reform city serviceslike the welfare-to-work program, the twoaldermen, Curtatone and Buonomo, have focused onthe need for various administrative changes withinSomerville's government.

Both advocate a "living wage" increase formunicipal workers.

In addition to supporting the pay increase,Curtatone has announced a number of initiatives tofacilitate home ownership, such as creating a cityfund to assist in the development of low-incomehousing.

On the subject of city-wide economicdevelopment, both Buonomo and Curtatone haveproposed convening a group of local political andbusiness leaders, along with urban planners, tocome up with a vision for the city's future.

"An economic development summit would providelong-term objectives," Buonomo says.

A Successor to Capuano

For all their ideas, none of the candidatesseem to stand out in the minds of some cityresidents.

Those following the election agree that thenumber of undecided voters at this point in thecontest is unusually high.

"It's still not clear who's going to win therace," Goldstein-Gelb says. "The candidates havetried to express their views, but people I'vetalked to know to differentiate between whatpeople say and what they'll actually do."

Voters looking for a way to distinguish thecandidates might focus on the credentials eachbrings to the race.

Curtatone, a lifelong Somerville resident andBoston College graduate, has served two terms asan at-large alderman and has sat on seven of thecity's committees.

In January, he became interim president of theboard of aldermen, a promotion many criticized himfor accepting because it might give him an unfairadvantage in the election.

He is the only candidate former MayorCapuano--who has yet to endorse anyone for his oldjob--has singled out as being unfit to lead thecity.

In the past, Curtatone has criticized Capuanofor letting cronyism dictate his appointments.

At the January candidate event, Curtatonesuggested he would restore integrity to theprocess of choosing city officials.

"I owe no one a job," Curtatone says.

If Curtatone has sought to establish himself asthe anti-Capuano choice, Buonomo has set himselfup as the former mayor's heir apparent.

The son of Italian immigrants, Buonomo and hisnine siblings grew up in Somerville publichousing. He attributes his understanding the valueof a dollar to his family's onetime dependence onwelfare.

Gay, too, is an immigrant, having been born inIreland. Her political background includes a bidfor Lieutenant Governor last year, which, thoughunsuccessful, made her name known in thecommunity. She has not held city office since astint on the school committee that ended in 1993.

Goldstein-Gelb says these three candidates arereasonably well-known among voters.

"Buonomo and Curtatone seem to have more of apresence, but Gay has more people making telephonecalls for her candidacy," Goldstein-Gelb says.

One city resident, Jason Flynn, who teaches atSt. Clement High School, offered a piece of adviceto all the candidates.

"I think they're going to have to stand ontheir own if they want to win," he says