It's as if the bandwagon backing Lawrence A. Bell III's candidacy for mayor is the only ride in town.

A key fund-raiser from Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's campaigns has climbed aboard. An ally of state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer is aligning with Bell. Even an adviser for city Comptroller Joan M. Pratt, who until last week was looking to run against Bell, is working for Bell's campaign.

While naysayers question his grit as a candidate and the strength of his support, one test of Bell's stature will occur tonight when the City Council president holds his first major fund-raiser of the year at Harborview Condominium and Yacht Club. The $500-a-ticket event is expected to generate about $350,000.

Bell's supporters say his constituency has grown steadily during the past couple of months as the undeclared mayoral candidate has quietly worked Baltimore neighborhoods, shaking hands with students and community leaders and meeting with business owners and union officials.

Former City Councilman and city Real Estate Officer Anthony J. Ambridge praised Bell's campaign strategy, which has kept him the front-runner. "I've got to hand it to Lawrence, he's set the pace and he's kept it low-key. People who are selling tickets are selling out," Ambridge said. "They're saying, 'Get on board.' "

Support for Bell is developing even as some state lawmakers seek a more high-profile candidate because they believe Bell and other current candidates are weak.

Among those helping with the event tonight are beauty salon owner and former zoning board chairwoman Gia Blattermann, who helped political strategist Larry S. Gibson raise money for Schmoke's campaigns and for former Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann in her abbreviated gubernatorial bid last year.

Blattermann said she is volunteering because she believes the council president is a strong mayoral candidate and because his campaign manager, Tammy Haw- ley, is a close friend.

Julius Henson, Pratt's political ally, is a paid consultant for the Bell team. And Gene Raynor, a Schaefer political ally and former city and state board of elections chief, said he bought a ticket to the event tonight and hopes to join Bell's committee if Schaefer does not run.

"We have tremendous support," Hawley said. "There are a lot of people who are positioning themselves to support Lawrence Bell."

But some political observers are not conceding victory to Bell. They said the race is just starting, and the field of candidates is developing.

"The [July] filing deadline has not arrived," said former state Del. Kenneth L. Webster, a longtime city political strategist who also works with state Sen. Joan Carter Conway's political team. "Remember the Wizard of Oz? Once they took the curtain down from around the wizard, what did you have?"

State lawmakers concerned about Bell's ability to lead the city have introduced legislation to reduce the city's residency requirement for mayoral candidates from a year to six months, hoping to draw NAACP President Kweisi Mfume -- Bell's cousin -- into the race.

Mfume, a former city councilman and congressman, insists he is not running. But state lawmakers have lobbied the civil rights leader since Schmoke announced in December that he would not seek a fourth term.

Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden, chairman of the city's Senate delegation, said he is pushing to change the residency requirement so the city can find the best possible candidate "to run a multibillion-dollar business."

"Our city needs a mayor with a national perspective, if not an international view," McFadden told a Senate committee during a hearing last week. "We are in need of a vanguard of leadership."

Even some Bell supporters are concerned that he has not aggressively taken on city issues such as the troubled court system.

"He needs to speak out more," said Glenard S. Middleton Sr., president of the Baltimore Municipal Employees union, part of the city union groups that are gearing up to support Bell for mayor. "I don't see any of the candidates out front right now, and they need to be if they're going to be mayor of this city."

Despite the criticism, Bell appears confident in his ability to win the race.

The 37-year-old Baltimore native and first-term council president said he is focusing on the council's business and on building relations with the city's residents, business leaders and political officials.

"It's all about unifying the city," Bell said. "I'm very optimistic about the future."

This week, Bell released an eight-page report on his work as council president with his vision for the future of public safety, economic development, educational enhancement and technology advancement.

The report emphasizes a need for a zero-tolerance crime policy, more jobs and increased before- and after-school activities.

The son of a dentist and a special education teacher, Bell has risen from councilman to council president.

Bell recently worked the Park Heights neighborhood, meeting with Jewish community leaders and school officials as if campaigning for the mayor's job.

"What's my name?" Bell asked a group of pupils from Fallstaff Middle School, while on his neighborhood tour.

"Lawrence Bell," several of the pupils responded.

"I hope your parents remember that," Bell said.

Sun staff writer Gerard Shields contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 3/04/99