Twenty-six candidates filed to run for Baltimore mayor by last night's deadline, creating the largest field of contenders in at least 33 years.

Vacancies for City Council president and four seats on the 19-member council spurred another 83 candidates to join a 10-week campaign sprint to the Sept. 14 primary election.

Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke will step down in December after 12 years, making this mayoral election the first without an incumbent in 28 years.

"It looks pretty confusing," Matthew Crenson, a political science professor at the Johns Hopkins University, said of the mayoral ballot. "The outcome is going to be very difficult to call."

Although Schmoke warned that state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, a former mayor and governor, would join the race, last night's deadline passed without Schaefer joining the political fray.

About an hour before the 9 p.m. filing deadline, Schaefer created a stir by walking into the city election office on Fayette Street and looking over the list of mayoral candidates before stating that he wasn't joining the contest.

"I just came down to see who filed," Schaefer said. "As a citizen I would like to know who's running. It's the most critical campaign for mayor in the last 10 or 12 years."

Although the number of candidates swelled on the final day, the mayoral front-runners remain unchanged.

City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III maintains the coveted post position on the alphabetical Democratic mayoral ballot. And his job as the city's second-highest elected official over the past four years gives Bell critical name recognition in the crowded field.

Other top Democratic contenders include Register of Wills Mary W. Conaway, Northeast City Councilman Martin O'Malley and former East Baltimore Councilman and school board member Carl Stokes.

In a city in which Democrats outnumber Republicans 9-to-1, seven Republican candidates will make a mayoral bid. In addition, three independent candidates joined the race, ensuring that their names will appear on the general election ballot in November.

The remaining mayoral field consists of little-known community activists and citizens concerned about the city's deterioration.

Sandra Okwaye, a 44-year-old Northeast Baltimore hospital worker, was one of the 12 candidates who paid the $150 filing fee to throw her name into the mayoral mix on the last day. Okwaye said she is tired of crime and drugs ruining the city.

"I know what Baltimore needs, I've been a victim of crime and I've had relatives that have been victims of crime," said Okwaye, a registration assistant at Sinai Hospital and mother of two. "It's all about being sick and tired and when you are sick and tired, you just have to get up and do something."

The crowded ballot will likely help Bell among voters unwilling to pore over the long list of candidates. And mayoral hopefuls in the race before yesterday's deadline acknowledged that the growth of the field makes the task of distinguishing themselves from the pack much more difficult.

"Unfortunately, one dynamic is that if there is a lot of people, it makes it difficult to focus in on the candidates," said mayoral candidate A. Robert Kaufman.

City Council candidates will face a similar challenge. Eighty-three candidates filed for the 19 council seats. The heaviest field will be in the 4th District, where 17 candidates filed for three seats, one of which is open. Fourteen candidates will compete in the 3rd District, which has two open seats, while 16 candidates will fight for a seat being vacated by Councilman Robert L. Douglass in East Baltimore's 2nd District.

For council hopefuls, the open seats served as the honey attracting them to the race.

"Usually when an incumbent says they are not going to run, it brings out a lot of people," said city Elections Director Barbara E. Jackson, who called the mayoral field the largest in 33 years. "It brings out a lot of people who believe they can win."

With Bell stepping down as council president, seven candidates filed for his position. Circuit Court Clerk Frank M. Conaway will run for council president alongside his wife, Mary, a mayoral candidate. Also in the council president field is West Baltimore Councilwoman Sheila Dixon and former state Sen. Nathan C. Irby Jr., now executive secretary of the city liquor board.

The Conaways led the list of families with multiple candidates, with son Frank Jr. filing for a 4th District council seat. "It's an open seat," his father said of his son's candidacy. "It's in his blood, it's in his family."

Candidates for September primary

The following Baltimore residents have filed to run for office in the September primary:

Democratic mayoral candidates:

Lawrence A. Bell III of the 3300 block of Auchentoroly Terrace

Phillip A. Brown Jr. of the 5400 block of Bowleys Lane

Mary W. Conaway of the 6800 block of Cross Country Blvd.

Robert S. Cunningham of the 6800 block of Cross Country Blvd.

Richard A. Darrah of the 2100 block of Echodale Ave.

Charles A. Dugger of the 200 block of W. Saratoga St.

Vincent P. Fullard of the 3300 block of Sumter Ave.

John W. Hahn of the first block of E. Chase St. A. Robert Kaufman of the 2000 block of

N. Hilton St.

Bernard J. Kempa Sr. of the 2900 block of Sylvan Ave.

Gene L. Michaels of the 900 block of S. Belnord Ave.

Sandra F. Okwaye of the 4400 block of Anntana Ave.

Martin J. O'Malley of the first block of E. Lexington St.

Richard R. Riha of the 6600 block of Harford Road

William E. Roberts Sr. of the 2000 block of Walbrook Ave.

Carl Stokes of P.O. Box 4441

Republican mayoral candidates:

Carl M. Adair of the 4700 block of Norfolk Ave.

Arthur W. Cuffie Jr. of the 300 block of W. Lafayette Ave.

Dorothy C. Jennings of P.O. Box 67681

Lynwood H. Leverette of the 1000 block of N. Fulton Ave.

Roberto L. Marsili of the 200 block of Albermarle St.

Melanie M. Taylor of the 4300 block of Seminole Ave.

David F. Tufaro of the 1600 block of Thames St.

Independent mayoral candidates: N. Luqman Alfurgan of the 300 block of E. Federal St.

Roger L. Loughry Sr. of the 3000 block of Independence St.

Terry Thometz of P.O. Box 27129

Democratic candidates for City Council president:

Kelley C. Brohawn of the 4600 block of Schenley Road

Frank M. Conaway of the 3200 block of Liberty Heights Ave.

Sheila M. Dixon of P.O. Box 67023

David G. S. Greene of the 500 block of E. 42nd St.

Nathan C. Irby Jr. of the 2000 block of E. Biddle St.

Shelton J. Stewart of the 3700 block of Bartwood Road

Republican candidates for City Council president:

Antonio W. Campbell of P.O. Box 11068

Democratic candidates for comptroller:

Melvin J. Brechin of the 3500 block of Cardenas Ave.

Joan M. Pratt of the 100 block of E. Northern Parkway

Republican candidates for comptroller:

Charles U. Smith of the 1100 block of N. Kenwood Ave.