Others, however, said they are content with the status quo.

Current City Councillor Leland Cheung, who is up for reelection, said that Cambridge has a far more transparent licensing process than Somerville or Boston. Cambridge is more willing to work with potential business owners, he said.

Candidate Gary Mello said he was satisfied with the increased number of non-transferable licenses issued in Harvard Square.

“We’ve been very generous the last few years in the number of new licenses we’ve permitted,” Mello said. “I think they’re working.”

But regardless of where they fall on licensing regulations, some candidates seemed reluctant to interfere with the License Commission. Indeed, the Council has historically abstained from interfering with the Commission—as Seidel suggested, perhaps because the lengthy process of obtaining a license plays an important role.

“We can always look at making governmental process more efficient,” Seidel said. “But we are always going to want to have some process because voices need to be heard and we need to work of the conflicts that emerge.”

—Marco J. Barber Grossi, Antonio Coppola, John P. Finnegan, Caroline C. Hunsicker, Jennifer Leung, Anja C. Nilsson, Sonali Y. Salgado, Henry Shah, and Maia R. Silber contributed reporting to this story.

—Staff writer Nikki D. Erlick can be reached at nikki.erlick@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @nikkierlick.

—Staff writer Laura K. Reston can be reached at laura.reston@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurareston.