Never the twain shall meet

The mayor sat in a side room just off the balcony of a Boston University theater, with the shades drawn. He never looked down at the woman who wants his job, Councilor at Large Maura A. Hennigan, who called out to him from the stage, pleading for a real debate.

''It's not too late, Tom, to come here and have us be face to face!" she said as students clapped.

A half-hour later, the mayor did come down. But Hennigan was gone, relegated to a seat in the audience, as per the rules of last night's mayoral ''issues forum."

Four weeks before the city election, Hennigan is determined to debate the mayor, and the mayor is determined to avoid a direct confrontation. Last night's event may have been the most vivid illustration of the predicament, as the two candidates spoke to the same audience and came within a few feet of one another and yet never engaged in a discussion.

Despite Hennigan's repeated pleas for a direct faceoff, the Menino campaign demanded that the two candidates not share the stage at the same time at the BU event. Student government leaders, who said they were merely trying to increase youth interest in the election, declined to push the issue.

That made for some unusual choreography. Each candidate appeared on the stage for about 30 minutes, not with his or her opponent, but with former governor Michael S. Dukakis. Dukakis read questions submitted from students on topics ranging from keg party crackdowns to MBTA nighttime service.

Hennigan went first, because Menino won a coin toss and elected to appear second.

''Governor Dukakis has participated in many debates," she said when she took the stage, underscoring her main point of the evening. ''He debated George Herbert Walker Bush."

Hennigan was unrelenting on that point. But on other subjects, in contrast to her crisp appearance on WGBH Greater Boston debate last month, the 24-year veteran of city politics seemed at times wandering in her responses.

At the end of her time on stage, she declared: ''At 5:15 today, I am going to wait and see if Tom Menino will meet me outside so we can plan a real Lincoln-Douglas style debate."

Her one substantive proposal consisted of what she called a new initiative: a program to link college students as mentors to Boston public school students. She urged students to sign up then and there.

''See Zack out at my table," she said.

Menino's approach could not have been more different. Seeming relaxed, he regaled the audience with tales of his early days of campaigning for Jimmy Carter.

He joked about how he had teased two college students wearing New York Yankees caps at one of his speeches, only to receive angry letters from their mothers. In response to a question about pedestrian safety, he scoffed at the city's jaywalking law, which he said carries a laughably weak penalty. ''What are they going to do, take your shoes away from you?" he said, to laughter.

Asked after the debate if he thought the questions were hard, he said, ''No."

Hennigan's frustration over her inability to pin down Menino has grown. The evening after the preliminary election, the two appeared on the WGBH program, ''Greater Boston," in a town meeting-style forum that did not provide the opportunity for them to directly challenge each other. Tomorrow night, WBZ radio will host both of them, for questions from host Paul Sullivan and callers. Also, the candidates have agreed to a conversation together next week with Globe columnist Brian McGrory. Again, it appears the candidates will not directly debate in front of an audience.

''This was not a debate by any stretch of the imagination to have two candidates seeking the highest office of this city not appear together face to face, eye to eye, taking questions," Hennigan said last night. ''Why is Tom Menino afraid to defend his record? Why is Tom Menino afraid, not just to face me, but to face the public?"

Student government leaders had hoped to attract 800 students to the forum last night, partly by enlisting comedian Jon Stewart to be the moderator. But Stewart's people never returned their calls, so they turned to Dukakis. And when they raised the idea of structuring the evening as a real debate, the Menino people balked, they said.

''They were like, 'Well, you never told us it was a debate.' They were like, 'You never told us this,' " said Meghan Loraditch, 19, who helped negotiate between the two campaigns.

The turnout was disappointing: about 140 students from several colleges around Boston. And despite Dukakis's efforts, the forum allowed the candidates to wander, from the subject of Iraq to Menino's onetime rescue of a homeless pregnant woman from alcoholism.

Students sat impassively in their seats as both candidates spoke.

The one audience member who seemed rapt was Hennigan, who perched on the edge of a theater seat when her opponent took the stage.

She scribbled notes in her pad throughout his 30 minutes, frowning at times, arching her eyebrows, leaning toward the stage as if aching to join in.

Afterward, she tried again.

As promised, she stood at the exit of the theater, waiting. A half-dozen reporters gathered around her.

But Menino could not be rushed. He stopped to sign autographs and then sauntered toward the door, smiling. He suddenly accelerated when he spotted Hennigan waiting for him and stretched out his hand for a quick shake.

''Councilor! How are ya?" he said, without missing a step.

Hennigan shook his hand.

''Will you agree to a real debate Tom?" she demanded loudly.

Said Menino, ''Yeah, all the time."

And then he was off, down the stairs and out the door, followed by a few aides.