If Kellogg Prof. Allan Drebin wins the First Ward aldermanic election on Tuesday, he will be the first person from Northwestern University to serve on the Evanston City Council and will set a precedent for future NU involvement in city government.

Drebin is running against incumbent Ald. Arthur Newman in one of the most contentious 2001 council races, and his status as a professor has generated controversy.

Newman claims Drebin cannot serve as alderman because his affiliation with the university would create a conflict of interest. But Drebin has said he would recuse himself on votes in which he had a conflict of interest and contends that his relationship could benefit both the city and the school.

“I am on campus all the time. I have lunch in the dorms,” Drebin said. “I have contact with the students if they have problems. I know the culture of the university, having been here for 31 years, and I know how the university administration works.”

If no one from NU is allowed to serve on city council, Drebin said “the city will suffer, and the university will suffer as well. A large percentage of the population (in the First Ward) is composed of NU faculty and students.”

Drebin said that even if he doesn’t win, he hopes a faculty member could gain a council seat in the future.

“If I lose because of my personality or own personal shortcomings, then there’s still hope,” he said. “But if my affiliation to the university becomes the issue, then no one from (NU) will be able to run for city council.”

Drebin said he hopes students take advantage of their ability to make a difference in Tuesday’s election.

“My hope is that students will come alive and participate in the city,” he said. “In the past, most NU students who were eligible to vote in local elections have not.”

According to Newman, there are about 1,600 registered voters in the First Ward. During the 1997 aldermanic elections, there were only 1,300. The increase resulted mostly from last year’s national election.

“The number of registered student voters increases during national elections but decreases during local elections because there is not much interest,” said Evanston City Clerk Mary Morris.

Morris said the city breakdown voters based on age or status as students. However, the First and Seventh wards include a large number of NU students who live on campus. In the 1997 council race, Raj Udeshi, then a Weinberg sophomore, ran as a write-in candidate against Newman and lost 653-100. In 1993, then-Weinberg senior Top Lupfer ran against Newman and lost 963-352. A third candidate, Robert Costello, also ran but garnered only 279 votes.

Drebin said he hopes students will set an example for future students by being involved with council.

“Every student who is here today is affected by previous generations,” Drebin said. Faculty also could benefit from his campaign, he said.

“I’m a professor, and if I can serve on city council, then that will open doors for other people,” Drebin said.

But Arthur Stinchcombe, a sociology and political science professor, disagreed with Drebin.

“I don’t think that there’s any way in which his role will benefit the faculty,” Stinchcombe said. “It might serve the administration.”

Stinchcombe lives in the Second Ward, where Lionel Jean-Baptiste is running against Betty Sue Ester. However, Stinchcombe said that if he lived in the First Ward, he would still vote for Drebin.