Even as NAACP President Kweisi Mfume continues to deny that he will enter Baltimore's mayoral race, his possible candidacy is threatening support for his cousin, City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III.

Some Bell supporters and key political and community leaders said they would switch their allegiances and endorse Mfume if he runs for mayor. It is widely expected that if Mfume runs, Bell -- once considered a front-runner -- would not enter the race.

Glenard S. Middleton, president of the Baltimore Municipal Employees Union, one of Bell's strongest advocates, said: "If Mfume runs, I'm backing Mfume." Otis Warren, a developer who was among those who attended Bell's fund-raiser last week, said he too would support Mfume over Bell.

State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, whom Bell has courted to be a part of his cam- paign team, expects that Mfume will run. So does William L. "Little Willie" Adams, a West Baltimore political leader and businessman.

"The only person I would say I would be backing is Kweisi," Adams said. "If he wanted to run, I would be happy to see him do that."

Growing enthusiasm for the one-time congressman and City Council member comes as state and city lawmakers ease the way for an Mfume candidacy.

Some council members have talked privately about a pay raise for mayor. Yesterday at least three members said they would vote for a substantial increase. The job pays $95,000.

Asked if she would vote for a raise to $150,000 a year, Council member Sheila Dixon said she would support such a pay increase for Mfume, "but I can't see giving a raise to just anybody." Council members Agnes B. Welch and Stephanie Rawlings, whose father, state Del. Howard P. Rawlings, is a leading advocate of a Mfume candidacy, both endorsed a raise.

The National Association of Colored People pays Mfume $200,000 a year.

Legislation is pending in the General Assembly that would reduce the residency requirement for mayoral candidates from one year to six months. It has been introduced with Mfume in mind.

Yesterday, The Sun reported that Mfume is set to buy a two-bedroom condo on the 25th floor of Harbor Court in downtown Baltimore. Settlement is planned within days, said the former owner, Robert J. Romadka.

Reached in St. Petersburg, Fla., yesterday, Romadka, an Essex attorney who has lived in the building for 14 years, said his children were handling the transaction. Mfume has been preparing the condo over the past several weeks, Romadka said.

"It should be sewn up in a few days," Romadka said.

"I am not a candidate for the office of mayor," Mfume said in an interview yesterday. "I don't expect to be a candidate."

In addition, Mfume says of the condo purchase: "I have not purchased a property in Baltimore, although I have been looking at houses since last October." He said he needs another home to minimize his tax burden.

In a press release the NAACP issued yesterday, Mfume said: "I am not a candidate for the Baltimore mayor's office. It has been no secret and it has been widely reported since last fall that I was interested in purchasing another property in Baltimore, replacing the one my late aunt bequeathed me.

"The ensuing chain of events should in no way be interpreted as me running for mayor."

Even with his denials, Mfume appears to have softened his position from earlier statements, in which he adamantly stated that he would never run for mayor.

He now declines to say whether he will become a candidate. The NAACP requires all officers to leave their posts when they become candidates for public office. Mayoral candidates must file notice with the city Board of Elections by July 7.

Bell, also an undeclared mayoral candidate, tries to remain positive about the matter.

"I'm very glad he has chosen to live in the city," Bell said yesterday about Mfume. "He reaffirmed with my mother today that he was not running for mayor."

Bell would not say whether he would fight the state residency bill, but his staff has been looking at loopholes in the legislation and ways to defeat it.

Bell said, "It's very important that the present residency requirement is intact."

Even so, several council members support the legislation.

"No, I'm not going to vote to overturn it," said Dixon. "It means bringing in some additional notable candidates. People are concerned with [Bell]. The leader that we're dealing with right now is not leading."

Welch, vice president of the council, said she supported the residency bill.

Councilman Martin O'Malley, one of Bell's strongest supporters, said he was undecided but is leaning against it.

"I don't like city business being determined by Annapolis," O'Malley said. "I don't like doing any of this stuff for one person."

Sun staff writer Gerard Shields contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 3/11/99