Pulling out the stops for election

It's not the definition of sleek, particularly after its journey of more than 130,000 miles over the past seven years, but with its candy-colored stripes, a dozen or so colorful bumper stickers, and the rainbow on its hood, Jesse Gordon's old Saturn is definitely eye-catching.

Of course, as the message on the pink doors suggests, that's the goal.

''The name of the game is name recognition," says Gordon, who's using the jalopy to publicize his website, and in handwritten capital letters, his candidacy for Cambridge City Council. ''I try to leave the car parked in obvious spaces."

Running for public office in most towns involves planting yard signs, mass mailings, phone calls, and knocking on doors. In Cambridge, where the unconventional is often the norm, some of the 18 candidates competing for the city's nine seats are taking a more idiosyncratic approach.

With little time before the Nov. 8 election, the challengers are using novel measures to get their names known and positions recognized on issues including affordable housing and property taxes, both of which featured prominently in a debate this month at the Hotel Marlowe.

In his second bid for a council seat, Craig Kelleyhas been wheeling around the city on his Xtracycle, a special bike with a trailer attached to the back wheel, on which he carries signs, campaign literature, and a computer with a projector and screen he uses for PowerPoint demonstrations.

''I grab any opportunity to get people to think outside the block," says Kelley, an environmental consultant from North Cambridge.

Then there's the blender, which he also attaches to the back of his bike and uses to make blended drinks by spinning his wheels. He offers a beverage du jour to people who pass his campaign office.

It's all part of his way of projecting his environmentalism -- and the idea that cars aren't the only way to get around Cambridge. ''It's just another example that there are solutions to Cambridge's transportation and air problems," he says.

In elections at any level, it's a challenge to beat incumbents, most of whom benefit from having name recognition, years in office, and often more access to money. Some incumbents in Cambridge have spent as much as $80,000 to win a council seat.

So it's not surprising that candidates have resorted to unusual tactics, says Robert Winters, a part-time political consultant and local activist who has unsuccessfully run for City Council four times over the years.

''They have to use whatever kind of gimmick or other form of appeal, in order to draw some fraction of votes from the incumbents . . . and it's not so easy," he says.

Winters recalls a school committee candidate from a past election whose distinctive logo, a handprint inside a circle, helped her win. ''Voters saw something that was curious, and something even cryptic, and I think that only helped to boost her," he says.

In an effort to capture younger voters' attention, City Councilor Brian Murphy took an idea from his daughter, and now he's giving away thousands of temporary tattoos with his name.

Murphy says he may also go ''reverse trick-or-treating" on Halloween, knocking on doors with candy.

''You never know what you are going to get on the other side of the door," says Murphy, who one year went door to door with a Nobel Prize laureate dressed in a bathrobe.

For Jesse Gordon, the car isn't the only unusual campaign ploy. He has also turned a foe into a compatriot. He and Sam Seidel, another Democratic challenger, are sharing an office.

''Money is always the limiting factor," says Gordon, who hopes to cut costs by sharing a basement office on Mount Auburn Street. ''What we are doing ... is trying to fix some of that rigging."

It may be a long shot to win a seat, but Gordon is confident his efforts will pay off. ''Democracy benefits from challengers using unusual tactics," he says.

Not all candidates see it the same way.

For Mayor Michael A. Sullivan, who's also running for one of the council seats, the only way to ensure victory is hard work.

''I don't do anything during an election that I don't do at any other time of the year," he says. ''I just keep working hard. Maybe that's unconventional."