Some things haven’t changed in Evanston since 1997.

The squabbling between the city and Northwestern continue. A comprehensive affordable housing ordinance remains elusive. And residents still complain about the city’s high taxes.

But other things have changed. Mayor Lorraine H. Morton has a challenger in the race for mayor for the first time since 1993, after running unopposed in 1997 and 2001. Although Morton said she still has the confidence of Evanston taxpayers, other residents are not so sure.

“There’s a lot of dissension in the ranks,” said Peter Godwin, the Evanston attorney who also is running for mayor. “It’s not just me.”

Morton — the city’s first black mayor — also served as Fifth Ward alderman for nine years. She was first elected mayor in 1993, defeating Ald. Ann Rainey (8th).

But in 2005, a heightened interest in the mayoral campaign indicates a changed political climate. Godwin is the mayor’s only challenger, but other residents had also considered running.

Ald. Joseph Kent (5th) said residents are “waking up” and seeing Evanston change — and not necessarily for the better.

Kent said the campaign to close Evanston Hospital’s medical waste incinerator, which shut down in October, indicated residents are taking a more active approach toward city issues. And other problems remain, he said, from Evanston’s “gentrification” to the lack of affordable housing.

Repeated budget deficits of several million dollars per year also have led some residents to demand change, Godwin said.

“We’ve reached some critical times,” Kent said. “People are becoming more aware of local issues.”

One of those local issues is NU-Evanston relations. Morton, who graduated with a master’s in education from NU, has been perceived to be lenient on the university during NU-Evanston disputes. Godwin said Morton has been ineffective at fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with the university.

That perception is already hurting Morton in the upcoming campaign.

“If you watch the council meetings, it seems like she is influenced by Northwestern,” said Loretha Henry, president of the Westside Residents Association. “Some of the taxpayers are probably tired of that.”

As bad as NU-Evanston relations seem, relations between the mayor and Evanston City Council could be worse. Discussions in the City Council chamber have nearly unraveled into shouting matches. Godwin said there are problems with reaching consensus on the council floor.

And some residents said that has to change.

“Hopefully whoever the mayor is will be able to work with the council and get things done,” said Judy Berg, president of North Evanston Watch. “That hasn’t been happening.”

In the end, the prospect of the mayor having more influence in politics could be fueling interest in the campaign, said Evanston resident Vito Brugliera, McCormick ’55. With nearly all council seats being contested, Evanston could end up with a different government on April 6 than it had the day before.

That’s good news for the mayor — no matter who is elected, Brugliera said. Some of the aldermen who have sticky relations with the mayor are not running again, which would allow the mayor to have more leeway to shape the future of the city, he said.

“A lot of the old-timers are not going to be there,” Brugliera said. “So the mayor position may wind up having more power. And that’s what interests some of these people.”

For her part, Morton said she has been willing to work with everyone, but not everyone has been willing to work with her. She is running again not because some troublesome aldermen may be getting the boot or leave, she said, but because there is more work to do for the benefit of the city.

“I want to continue what we started,” she said. “I’ve never lost focus of why I’m here. I’m here because the people of Evanston put me here.”

Godwin claims that mandate is gone. And whether voters agree with him or not, one thing is certain in the 2005 mayoral campaign.

“There is a desire to have choice,” Godwin said. “At the very minimum, (I will) give people choice.”

Reach Mike Cherney at [email protected].