When Charlie Luken takes the oath of office Saturday, the focus will be on the mayor and the new “strong mayor” system. And although he will be the most powerful mayor in generations, Mr. Luken will still have to push his agenda through a city council with some agendas of its own.

        On paper, the 2001-03 council has six Democrats, two Republicans and a Charterite.

        In practice, members are just as likely to form fluid coalitions along lines of race, age, ideology and temperament, depending on the issue.

        “The "Gang of Five' — those days are long over,” declared vice mayor-to-be Alicia Reece, referring to the conservative coalition that ruled the council with absolute authority in the 1980s.

        She will preside over a young council (median age: 33) with little experience (average tenure: two years) and plenty of ideas.

        And yes, she will preside.

        The new charter, which makes Mr. Luken a strong mayor, reads: “The mayor shall preside over all meetings of the council but shall not have a vote on the council.”

        The way Mr. Luken interprets it, the mayor will preside over the council much as the U.S. Constitution says the vice president presides over the Senate.

        That is to say, not very often.

        “The difficulty is that if I'm there, it's hard not to say what I think,” Mr. Luken

        said. “But it's also hard to see whether anyone should care what I think if I don't have a vote.”

        The voters' decision to elect Mr. Luken mayor and return seven incumbents to City Council was less than an overwhelming mandate for change.

        Still, the two new members of City Council — David Crowley and David Pepper — could significantly change the chemistry at City Hall.

        Both are seen as moderate consensus-builders with international experience: Mr. Crowley as a relief worker in Bosnia, and Mr. Pepper as an economic development worker in Russia.

        That leaves the other council members optimistic that the next City Council will be a more civil, businesslike body than in recent years.

        “Phil Heimlich is gone, number one, straight up,” said Councilwoman Minette Cooper, one of many who saw the term-limited Mr. Heimlich as a divisive force.

        “Instead, we have people like Mr. Crowley, who has had to deal with people with differences.”

        Mr. Pepper, the top vote-getter in the Nov. 6 election, ran on a platform of fixing City Council itself. And as chairman of the Rules Committee, he will have a mandate to reform council rules that promote inefficiency and bickering.

        The new members also give the Democratic Party six votes on council in addition to the mayor's office — making it impossible to stop them on any issue they agree on.

        Trouble is, there aren't many of those issues left. Party unity doesn't mean as much as it used to, but Democrats generally come together on labor issues, civil rights, and, if push comes to shove, the city's budget.

        Other factions likely to emerge within the new council are:

        • The conservative coalition. The two Republicans — Pat DeWine and Chris Monzel — are outnumbered on City Council, so they will have to find votes elsewhere on their proposals to cut city spending and promote law and order. Democrat John Cranley and Charterite Jim Tarbell have provided those votes in the past.

        But with Mr. Luken losing his vote on council, that fifth vote may be difficult to come by.

        • The DeWine-Reece alliance. In 1999, two freshman council members — one a white Republican man, the other a black Democratic woman — took office. The only thing Mr. DeWine and Ms. Reece had in common, it seemed, was their youth.

        But in two years, they've managed to put together a number of proposals to cut taxes on small businesses, decrease city regulations and radically reform the civil service system. They also sponsored a “Bridging the Gap” happy hour in Over-the-Rhine to bring white and black young professionals together socially.

        “I think both of us have an interest in getting rid of obstacles for small business in the city,” Mr. DeWine said. “It has nothing to do with race or sex or party. Those are basic issues of living and working in the city.”

        • African-American members. The three (Paul Booth, Ms. Cooper and Ms. Reece) have voted as a bloc with increasing frequency of late.

        They voted against the hiring of more police officers, a moratorium on new low-income housing, and the investigation into allegations of wrongdoing in the Genesis Redevelopment program.

        But sometimes, none of these coalitions prevails, with council members finding their five votes in unexpected places.

        Take the vote last week on a $6.6 million subsidy for Saks Fifth Avenue. Coming together to support it were three Democrats (Mr. Booth, Ms. Cooper and Mr. Luken), a Republican (Mr. Monzel) and a Charterite (Mr. Tarbell).

        To Mr. Tarbell, the lack of any consistent majority bodes poorly for important issues like downtown development.

        “We've got to bite the bullet, and the more we suck it up and do it as a team, the more effective we'll be,” he said.

Mayor's thorn: Unpredictable council
Black church reaches out to police
Community conversations on race
Small towns' big challenge: Find dining
Man could get death penalty in jail killing
Mother embraces disabled kids
Man struck outside stadium still critical
Local Digest
Obituary: Herbert Shaffer, broker, investor
Software decision faces council
You Asked For It
Congrats
Fairfield school candidate files complaint
Good News: 'Secret Angels' needed
Hometown Heroes returning to Enquirer
Middletown mall empty of shoppers
General may run for Ky. governor
Shooting death being investigated
Workshops restarted in wake of recent fires
70,000 Ky. kids have no phone
Freed inmate campaigns against death penalty
Group seeks to buy Civil War site
Storms do damage in Indiana