She said the city needs "more good programs for kids."

Paul G. Rego said that "housing, cleanliness in the city, crime, and drugs" were important issues for him.

Rego, 23, voted in his first election yesterday.

But many voters said that this year's elections were not based on specific issues. "I don't think there were any issues," said Barbara Hayes-Harrison, 47.

"Cambridge isn't really an issue-oriented city," according to Laurence T. May '72, who said that personalities, not platforms, dominate the city's political scene.

May, who has voted in about 15 Cambridge elections, said he tries to become acquainted with candidates.

Kenneth May, Laurence's brother and a Cambridge lawyer, agreed. "I vote for candidates," he said. "There aren't a whole lot of issues."

According to Kenneth May, a Cambridge resident for the past 35 years, the biggest concern is "why is everybody so apathetic."

Walter A. Costa also said he cast his votes based on the candidates themselves rather than issues.

"I like to give the votes to the city councillors who are going to do the things that are right," he said.

Costa, 72, said he could not identify any issues central to the election.

"It's just about everything that's going on in the city," he said.

Politicians and their supporters were also out in full force at the polls.

Councillor Timothy J. Toomey Jr. spent election day shaking hands and soliciting votes in front of the Harrington School.

Toomey, who is also a state representative, and School Committee incumbent Alfred B. Fantini were at the school before 7 a.m. yesterday morning and planned to stay there until the polls closed.

"Every election I always stay here," Toomey said of his early morning campaigning.

--Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed to the reporting of this article.