In rivals, common ground

State Representative Ruth Balser and Setti Warren, a former aide to US Senator John Kerry, have both said they won’t call for an increase in property taxes in their first year of office. They have both called for saving money by moving the city’s employees to the state’s health insurance plan, have both called for installing a performance management system to ensure good production from municipal employees, and have both said that more money needs to be put into maintaining Newton’s infrastructure.

With so little separating the two on the issues, observers say, the campaign may hinge on which candidate voters trust more to lead the city.

“This is a very different race’’ from the preliminary campaign, said Lisle Baker, president of the Board of Aldermen. Baker has watched the campaign closely but has not endorsed anyone. “They’re more similar than they are different on the issues. It becomes a question of which one do voters think is going to do a better job, and how do they come to that judgment.’’

“There’s probably more in common than there are differences,’’ agreed Malcolm Salter, chairman of the Citizen Advisory Group, which was set up last year to study the city’s finances and operations. “At this point it has to do with what their personal skills are, how they mobilize and apply those personal skills.’’

The candidates themselves say voters will look not to their differences on the issues, but rather their experience and leadership ability.

Balser has spent 20 years on the Board of Aldermen and in the state Legislature.

Warren, an Iraq War veteran, was a deputy state director for Kerry and held several positions in the Clinton administration, including as head of the New England region of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“This is about leadership,’’ Warren said in an interview Thursday. “It’s about vision, being able to bring the stakeholders together, driving the process, hiring the best people, really being relentless.’’

“People are choosing who will manage and lead the city, and who will do that best,’’ Balser said Thursday. “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and I’ve demonstrated during the past 20 years that I’ve been extraordinarily creative and effective in getting things done for the people of Newton.’’

The preliminary contest saw diversity in ideas, with businessman William Heck calling for large spending cuts, Alderman Paul Coletti defending the city from what he said were unfair attacks, and Alderman Ken Parker touting his 100-page “blueprint’’ for the city. But voters overwhelmingly picked Balser and Warren, who laid out their vision and leadership skills in their campaigns, for the final contest.

Still, Parker said, the final two will need to be more specific in their proposals for the general campaign. “They’re going to have to start to add in the specificity and really flesh out some of the broad themes,’’ said Parker, who has not endorsed either candidate but said he plans to meet with both of them.

“I don’t think they differ from each other,’’ said Heck, who based much of his campaign on a pitch for low taxes. “That’s why I say get out your checkbook and pay the tax.’’ He hasn’t endorsed either candidate.

Coletti has endorsed Warren.

Balser came in first Tuesday with 5,718 votes, or 36.2 percent of the total, according to unofficial results. Warren won 4,846 votes, or 30.1 percent.

Parker came in third, with 2,392 votes, 15.1 percent of the total. Heck got 1,645 votes, or 10.4 percent; Coletti drew 1,211 votes, or 7.7 percent.