But the crucial fifth vote eluded her, as fellow progressive Reeves, and independents Maher and Sullivan voted for Sullivan while Galluccio and Toomey voted for Galluccio.

The second round of voting took place one week later, but produced no changes. The next vote would not come for five weeks, as the council dealt with zoning matters, snow removal and the cancellation of its Feb. 7 meeting due to the death of former mayor Thomas W. Danehy.

At the time, local political analyst Glenn S. Koocher '71, host of the political television show "Cambridge Inside Out," said he had heard speculation that Decker might change her vote from Born to another candidate after a certain number of ballots.

"Marjorie Decker had genuine angst and confusion on her face," he said of her reaction when the roll call to close the mayoral voting was announced.

Tough Love

When the council finally took its next vote for mayor on Valentine's Day, things were looking much rosier for Reeves.

In the first vote of the evening at 8:30 p.m., Decker left the Born camp, aligning herself with Reeves, who changed his vote from Sullivan to himself.

The move had a domino effect on Born's chances. Before the meeting, Braude told Reeves he would support him if Born was not elected mayor on the first ballot.