BOULDER &mdash So many candidates are running for City Council here that they could play baseball against each other and still have plenty of pinch hitters.

Twenty-two people are vying for seven open seats. They range from an environmental lawyer to a gay activist, a former council member and a flurry of insiders to political newcomers.

They're debating how to lower Boulder's carbon footprint, what to do about alcohol abuse among university students and how to keep Boulder affordable for the middle class.

Just two are incumbents. Crystal Gray is seeking re-election. Ken Wilson is facing voters for the first time; he replaced Tom Eldridge, who died this year.

Richard Polk is not seeking re-election after a series of personal problems. Also not seeking re-election are Mayor Mark Ruzzin, Andy Schultheiss, Jack Stoakes and Robin Bohannan.

If voters say yes to Ballot Issue 2B, council members will earn about $500 per meeting, up to a maximum of $12,000 per year. Now they can earn $170 per meeting, up to $8,000 per year.

The Plan Boulder County group has endorsed seven candidates, who it trusts will carry on the tradition of valuing open space, limiting growth and giving residents plenty of non-automobile transportation options.

Many residents lean heavily on the PLC endorsements, while others think PLC is anti-automobile and anti-growth.

PLC endorsed incumbents Gray and Wilson, said Pat Shanks, chairman of the board of the 50-year-old group.

Three others got the PLC's nod: environmental lawyer Macon Cowles, who led the lawsuit against Exxon in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case; Susan Osborne, a former city planner who is president of Historic Boulder; and Lisa Morzel, a former two-term City Council member.

PLC also is endorsing two relative newcomers: Eugene Pearson, 24, who works for Boulder County AIDS Project and has espoused environmental causes; and Susan Peterson, an engineer and businesswoman who is active in areas of environment, growth and planning.

Among those PLC did not endorse are former City Councilman Matthew Appelbaum and Rob Smoke, who was a lightning rod of controversy when he headed Boulder's Human Relations Committee.