The time Northwestern students were asked to vote for a public official, the results were determined in the courtrooms of Washington, D.C., and the gymnasiums of southern Florida.

Though the effect of NU students’ votes on that election were distant and indistinguishable, if the number of Northwestern students who voted locally for the president last November turn out for Tuesday’s municipal elections, the impact of their votes could change the character of the city’s leadership for the rest of students’ time as Evanston residents.

The votes of NU students have the potential to decide the character of the council, and consequently the city of Evanston, for the next four years.

“Students make up a major part of the community,” said Eugene Sunshine, NU vice president for business and finance.

Conflicts between NU and Evanston have cooled over the last year, but issues such as the proposed historic district and the employee head tax could pose sticking points over the next year. And council ordinances affect NU students as often as permanent Evanston residents.

Decisions from the city council affect everything from the amount residents pay in taxes to the number of parking spots on city streets; from the jurisdiction of police officers to where residents can walk their dogs. Most recently, the council has helped bring projects such as the Church Street Plaza and the upcoming Sherman Ave. Plaza to downtown Evanston.

In the First Ward, which includes most of South Campus, town-gown relations have been at the forefront of the race. Incumbent Ald. Art Newman faces a unique opponent: Allan Drebin, a professor in the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. If elected, Drebin would be the first NU professor elected to the City Council.

After 17 years on the City Council, Ald. Dennis Drummer (2nd) will not seek re-election. Instead, Drummer is supporting Lionel Jean-Baptiste, a Princeton-educated attorney, who is running against Betty Sue Ester, a bookkeeper and employee of Turf Care Landscaping.

Incumbent Ald. Steven Bernstein (4th), a lawyer, faces two opponents, Mimi Peterson, who came into local prominence in defense of the city’s roadside trees, and Peggy Tarr, a 20-year resident with concerns about the ward’s zoning and budget.

Ald. Joe Kent (5th), a schoolteacher who was elected to the council in 1991 at age 24, is running against a familiar face: Rochelle Whyte-Washington, the incumbent Kent defeated in 1993. Whyte-Washington said she is running at the request of Fifth Ward residents.

The race in the Sixth Ward is between two lawyers and a businessman. Martin Norkett, a CEO, and Omar Khuri, an immigration lawyer, are running against incumbent Ald. Ed Moran, also a lawyer.

And the Seventh Ward, which includes much of North Campus, has four candidates. Incumbent Ald. Stephen Engelman, an attorney, is challenged by Karl Gromelski, a marketing consultant; Howard Levin, a retired executive from the University of Chicago Press; and Junad Rizki, an architect and member of the Building Code of Appeals.

Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd), Ald. Ann Rainey (8th), and Ald. Gene Feldman (9th) are running unopposed. Mayor Lorraine Morton and City Clerk Mary Morris also are unopposed.

NU students and employees living in every ward of the city have the potential to change the election. The current majority bloc comprises Newman, Wynne, Bernstein, Kent and Feldman. If Newman, Bernstein and Kent should lose, the tone and votes on issues affecting NU could change. But all the incumbents, including Moran and Engelman, argue they are in the midst of long-term projects that they want to complete in their next term.

Sunshine said a student’s responsibility to vote parallels the decision to fill out a census form. Last fall, Sunshine said, with the help of Evanston, NU and several student groups, 90 percent of students filled out an Evanston census form.

Sunshine said, “voting is an extension of the civic responsibility of living in a community.”

“Students should have a say in who governs them,” Sunshine said.