Call it the "nothing-to-do" council.

After a significant shake-up in the November elections, the new Cambridge City Council took office this year eager to solve problems. But with few burning questions on the agenda, it is been a less than productive year at City Hall.

As a result, the nine councillors have spent more time jockeying for position than getting work done.

When the nine-member council held its biennial elections in November, several new faces entered the Cambridge political scene. Longtime councillor Sheila D. Russell and mayor Francis H. Duehay '55 did not run for re-election, deciding to step away from the city government spotlight after a combined 21 terms in office.

The retirements, along with the surprising defeat of three-term councillor Katherine Triantafillou, opened the door for newcomers Jim Braude, Marjorie C. Decker and David P. Maher, while also leaving the mayor's seat up for grabs.

But the election was only the beginning of turmoil for the council, which haggled for weeks over picking a new leader.

Valentine's Day Massacre

The council--which operates under a proportional representation system in which a majority of councillors must agree on a mayor--failed to elect a successor to Duehay in its first month of meetings.

With the first two meetings, Kathleen L. Born led the way with four votes, but was unable to secure the final crucial vote to secure the mayoral seat. The next three weeks produced no votes on candidates as one meeting ran late due to a lengthy zoning discussion and another was cancelled because of a death.

After two weeks without mayoral meetings, the stage seemed set for a front-runner to emerge at the council's February 14 meeting.

Kenneth E. Reeves '72, who led the council as senior member while no mayor was in place, said before the meeting, "May God move us, so we can get a mayor to do this wonderful work."

But changed allegiances and lengthy public comment delayed the deciding votes until after midnight.

In the first two votes, Born gradually saw her votes slip away and go to Reeves, who gained the support of Decker in the first vote and then Braude in the second. Michael A. Sullivan held two votes--his and Maher's.

But in the dramatic final vote after 1 a.m., Anthony D. Galluccio was improbably catapulted into the mayor's seat.

He was able to secure the votes of Henrietta Davis, Braude, Maher and Sullivan, as well as his own and that of steadfast supporter Timothy P. Toomey, Jr, giving him the mayor's seat with a 6-3 margin over Born.

The 32-year-old Galluccio was sworn in as the city's youngest modern mayor shortly before 1:30 a.m. to applause from the 15 people who stayed for the entire meeting.