Philadelphia City Council consists of 17 members.

Separately, the members have power in varying degrees, but together the Council can be a potent political force. While all the attention has gone to the mayoral election, the Council races matter greatly.

Seven members are elected at large (each party nominated five, assuring minority party representation) and each of the others is elected from one of the city's 10 councilmanic districts.

Three incumbents, all Democrats, are unopposed in Tuesday's election. They are Council President Anna Verna in the 2nd District, Jannie Blackwell in the 3rd and Marian Tasco in the 9th.

Unfortunately, as will become clear below, many of the other incumbents faced such weak opposition that they seemed unopposed as well.

These are our preferences in the seven contested districts:

1st District

During the debate over the Jefferson Square project, a community redevelopment effort in South Philadelphia, DiCicco made sure no action was taken until community opponents had their say.

Like many Council members, DiCicco can get a little wacky. We still remember his proposal to fine parents as much as $300 if their teens were caught loitering or drinking. But DiCicco, who faces opponents from the Libertarian, Reform and Republican parties, has been a sharp Council member and should be re-elected.

4th District

Democrat Michael Nutter, who has represented the 4th District for eight years, is a model of how it should be done. The Daily News endorses him for a third term.

The 4th District includes part of West Philadelphia, Roxborough, Manayunk and East Falls. It's a diverse area with several competing interests, and Nutter has been mostly successful at balancing them.

In addition, he has been responsive on all-city issues like finances, police and education - He shepherded the ballot question changing school governance through Council.

5th District

Winner of a special election to finish the term of John Street, who resigned from Council to run for mayor, Clarke has shown that he will be an energetic Council member devoted to neighborhood issues - something the district, which comprises parts of Center City but also parts of some of the poorest neighborhoods in North Philadelphia, badly needs.

6th District

When more than two dozen homes in Wissinoming started to sink to the ground, Krajewski cajoled the Rendell Adminstration and the state Legislature for financial help for the homeowners.

And despite snickers, Krajewski has been fighting for tougher enforcement of leash laws to get dog owners to clean up after walking their pets.

We've disagreed with Krajewski on some issues: Her attempt to suspend the city's needle-exchange program was ill-considered given how successful the program has been in stopping the spread of AIDS. But Krajewski, who has served since 1979, deserves another term on Council.

7th District

However, she didn't work very hard at campaigning, even though the polyglot district is one of the few the GOP could win.

As a result, incumbent Democrat Rick Mariano should have an easy time being elected to a second term.

This is not a great tragedy. Mariano is a strong services-oriented councilman who occasionally shoots himself in the foot, but he is there for his constituents when they need him.

He deserves re-election.

8th District

Democratic Incumbent Donna Reed Miller continues to disappoint with a weak Council voice and grumblings about non-existent constituent services. But her Republican opponent, Bert Lancaster, former administrative aide to Councilman Frank Rizzo, is unproven and too inexperienced to rule a district as diverse as the 8th, which includes the city's poorest residents in Tioga and Nicetown, as well as the richest, in Chestnut Hill. Our endorsement for Miller, who does not lack brains or experience, is a vote of hope that she will wake up and start acting more aggressively for her district.

10th District

As odd man out, you'd think O'Neill would have little clout on Council, but that's not so. A smart and thoughtful lawyer, he works well with his Democratic colleagues and is widely respected.

His Democratic opponent, 21-year-old Harry Citrino, is not only legally too young to serve (25 is the cutoff), he's too naive to serve.