Pre-Election Note

When radical officers were elected in Berkeley, Calif., and Madison, Wisc., political analysts were quick to cite Cambridge as the next city in line for a radical takeover engineered by the city's students. Their predictions never materialized. The 1973 race for city council and the school committee has proceeded as in past years with perhaps a little less spark than usual, not only among the students but among the citizens outside the walls of the Yard. In fact, at candidates meetings during the past month, the candidates have found themselves outnumbering the electorate. It would be hard to imagine local issues contesting the recent spurt of national news for priority in the voters' minds, but if political interest isn't generated at the local level, and crimes and more crimes dampen the American electorate's interest in politics at the national level, what's left? If not the people, it must be the system. Fran Schumer   Supplements Editor