TJ Thomson has the backing of some big-name Boiseans, including Mayor Dave Bieter and four sitting City Council members.

That's one of Thomson's selling points — and to Thomson's critics, that is also one of his biggest flaws. Critics suggest that Thomson would fall in line with Bieter and a left-leaning City Council.

Is it a fair criticism? During his interview with the Statesman editorial board last week (the audio is available here), Thomson aligned with Bieter and the council on most issues, differing with City Hall on a few issues. And on the streetcar issue, Thomson tried hard to be both noncommittal and unoffensive.

Here's a rundown:

• Where he agrees: Here's a partial list. Thomson supports the branch libraries, supports the Capital City Development Corp.'s urban renewal efforts, endorses the bicycle safety recommendations from a city task force, and says City Hall might actually need to increase its $5.3 million annual commitment to bus transit.

• What he'd change: Thomson promises to bring a "fresh voice and new ideas" to the council, but that doesn't add up to a controversial platform. His ideas include adding more dog parks, pushing for glass recycling and augmenting transit by adding smaller buses on routes with low ridership.

• Where he second-guesses City Hall: Thomson says he would have questioned taking a 3 percent property tax increase during a recession — while conceding that, without the increase, City Hall might have had to lay off additional workers. He says the $90,000 streetcar outreach contract was "absolutely a bad idea." Easy target, of course, since the council has put the deal on hold.

What about that streetcar? Thomson says he has questions. He's not sure how the construction would affect Downtown traffic flow, or how the cables would affect aesthetics. He admits that City Hall's rosy forecasts for the project must be taken "with a grain of salt." But he insists that it's premature to take a position on the streetcar, and criticizes his opponent Dave Litster for taking an anti-streetcar stance.

So, is Bieter jumping the gun by supporting the project? Not really, says Thomson. "This is his project."

(Surely, Thomson will take some criticism for straddling the fence on the streetcar. But in fairness, the two council incumbents on the ballot, Vern Bisterfeldt and Maryanne Jordan, are noncommittal as well. As for the other council candidates, Litster, Lucas Baumbach, Dan Dunham and David Honey oppose the $65 million project; David Webb says the issue should be left to the voters.)

For his part, Litster is playing himself up as an outsider who will be able to take an independent view represent a more conservative perspective. Thomson, he says, would be a "reliable voice" for a viewpoint already well represented on the council. (The audio from Litster's editorial board meeting is available here.)

So, how much of a contrarian would Litster be, really? He didn't like the city's 3 percent property tax increase and believes the city can do more to speed up the business permit process. He says the city should at least look at reducing impact fees to jumpstart growth. But his big bone of contention is the streetcar, which he labels as "almost a Disneyland-type ride."

Yet on some key issues, Litster is in line with the City Hall orthodoxy. He supports CCDC and applauds the branch libraries. He believes bus service should be expanded, and would be open to advocating a local-option tax for transportation.

This isn't exactly a black-and-white choice on the issues. There are differences between Thomson and Litster — but the biggest difference may be one of perception.

Coming Sunday: The Statesman editorial board will endorse in the Boise City Council races.

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