With only five days remaining before elections, the eight candidates for five seats on the Ann Arbor City Council are putting the finishing touches on their campaigns.

Two of the races are uncontested. Running unopposed are 3rd Ward incumbent Heidi Cowing Herrell and 5th Ward incumbent Wendy Ann Woods, both Democrats.

In the 1st Ward, Democrat Robert Johnson is facing his first election after being appointed to the council in December 2000.

Johnson said that if re-elected he plans to tackle the traffic problem, parking ordinances and the housing problem.

"We need to do something about the housing problem," he said. There are housing arrangements for those with lower incomes and higher incomes, but those who make $40,000 to $50,000 per year have a hard time buying homes. "I want to try and deal with the growth in a way that will not destroy what makes Ann Arbor beautiful."

Facing off against Johnson is Republican challenger Scott Wojack, a secretary in the University"s Office of Financial Aid and an unsuccessful candidate last year for the state House of Representatives.

"I want to make more changes and do more things to make the city grow," he said.

Wojack said he would focus on increasing the city"s tax base if elected this year. He said the city should increase its tax base by offering tax abatements to companies in order to encourage them to relocate to the city.

He also supports having the city offer tax rebates to residents willing to utilize renewable energy sources.

In the 2nd Ward, Republican Michael Reid faces incumbent Democrat Joan Lowenstein, appointed last year. Reid, a portfolio manager with Ann Arbor-based Exchange Capital Management, wants to focus on improving the city"s financial state.

"We may well see some departments experiencing cuts in staffing and services they"re providing," he added.

Lowenstein, an intellectual property attorney who was appointed to the council in August 2000, wants to monitor the results of a transportation study for northeastern Ann Arbor and to continue working to beautify the city.

"I used to teach at the University so I feel I have a link to the community," she said.

The race for the 4th Ward seat includes Republican incumbent Marcia Higgins and Green Party member Michael Nowak. Higgins, an executive assistant at the venture capital firm Ardesta, plans to continue to focus on the budget and traffic congestion.

"We started a budget and finance committee a year ago," she said. "We"re looking at how it"s running, getting rid of duplication of services."

Nowak, whose wife Christie unsuccessfully ran for the other council seat in 4th Ward last year, is hoping the Greens will have a good chance of taking the seat that because there is no Democrat running.

"We thought it would be a good opportunity to run a Green against a Republican without the issue of being a spoiler," he said.

Nowak, for his part, wants to work to increase bike use in the city and also supports creating a civilian review board to watch over the Ann Arbor Police Department.

Democrats currently have an 9-2 majority over Republicans on the council, including control of the mayor"s office, which is occupied by first-termer John Hieftje.