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The Rev. Wendel ÒBuckÓ Cass asks the candidates a question during a heated June 3 forum.

He said he doesn't know why he's lost the support of some neighborhood groups. It's not true, he said, that he wanted the commissioner's seat because it carries a real salary ($109,818 annually, versus the $75 per week that council members get). He said he entered the commissioners' race mostly to help out the Democratic Party and always intended, if he lost that race, to run for his council seat again.

His supporters suggest that Moss may have lost some ground because he doesn't toot his own horn enough and would rather talk things out than deal in confrontation. Dr. Hill said that people in the district don't know everything he's done for them. ÒI know Frank has done things, and I haven't seen them recognized,Ó she said. ÒMy concern is why ... he's not running on his record.Ó

Wheatfall, by contrast, is running mostly on charisma and enthusiasm, although he does have big plans for what he'll do if elected. But more than anything else, he is running against Moss. He realizes that he's received the support of many groups simply because he's the alternative to the incumbent.

ÒI don't take offense to that,Ó he says, launching into a cheerleading routine about democracy, Òuplifting the peopleÓ and needing to be the person who can Òget things done.Ó Asked about the issues, he doesn't go straight into the trash problem or crime prevention -- he talks about getting Moss out. And he says that's what voters are telling him -- that what they want most is someone who stays in touch and lets voters know what's going on at city hall.

And truly, the first thing Wheatfall seems to be able to do is get people inspired. Davis says the pastor Òappeals to the younger group and that's what we need to appeal to nowadays.Ó Wheatfall's got the talk down, and for the past few weeks he's also been walking the walk, investing in some shoe-leather equity, going door to door to talk to voters. After graduating from Texas A&M University, Wheatfall moved back to Fort Worth in December 2002. He's now the youth pastor at the Golden Gate Church of Christ in God, in the District 5 neighborhood where he was born and raised.

Back at the voter forum, it was clear that neighborhood association president MeLinda Hamilton was disappointed with Moss.

ÒThe thing with Frank is you have to go and find him,Ó she said. ÒSome people don't even know who Frank Moss is. He's just a hard person to get in contact with. You can call him on his cell phone, he'll give you his number and everything, but you don't get that call back.Ó

Moss said he has always worked hard for District 5, and he puts the unrest in the area down to people who have Ònever liked me.Ó But in fact that's not what the Weekly's interviews showed. People like and respect Moss personally, but some, like Williams, believe he's lost touch with the voters.

Louis McBee -- an Eastsider but not a District 5 resident -- said people in the area, whatever their issues, Òsimply want representation downtown.Ó They want to feel that their neighborhoods, off Miller or U.S. 287 or near Lake Arlington, are truly only a 10-minute drive from downtown -- and no longer a world away.

Gayle Reaves contributed to this story.