ATTLEBORO - Councilors Frank Cook and Walter Thibodeau said Wednesday they are running in tandem for council president and vice president.

While they can't officially run as a team because the votes for each office are separate, the councilors support each other's candidacy and said that other councilors have encouraged both of them to seek the leadership posts.

"I think people looked around and said these are two people we'd like to have," said Cook, who announced Tuesday he was interested in the president's job.

The duo, both council veterans, said they planned to call colleagues Wednesday night to gauge support and line up votes if possible.

How many councilors are committed to Cook and Thibodeau wasn't clear Wednesday, but Thibodeau said he believed that they each had or were close to the six votes needed for election.

Another councilor who did not want to be quoted said the ticket only has four votes. In a news report Tuesday, Cook said at least half the incoming council had called him and asked him to seek the presidency of the 11-member panel.

Thibodeau, who will be starting his sixth term in January, said he and Cook, who is heading into his fifth term, were approached by colleagues who wanted them to run to avoid a floor fight over the president's job between Councilors Peter Blais and Kim Allard.

However, Allard denied she was seeking the job.

"I was never running for president and I never asked anyone for their vote," she said. "And Mr. Cook has not asked me for a vote."

Blais however is interested and said he has talked to colleagues about the post.

While there is disagreement over whether the Allard candidacy existed, Allard and Thibodeau agree that there have been "a lot rumors," around the leadership election which always sparks interest in the weeks following the city election.

This year, the interest is especially high because current President Barry LaCasse and Vice President Robert Schoch both decided not to seek re-election to the council.

Thibodeau said he and Cook hope to eliminate the rumors and calm the waters so a smooth transition to new council leadership can take place.

"We want to try to get this thing nailed down as soon as possible," Thibodeau said. "Once we do that, we hope the rumor mill will slow down, which will be for the betterment of the council." While Cook and Thibodeau were on opposite sides in a divided council four years ago when Mayor Kevin Dumas was first elected, the divisions have blurred and the two have found areas of agreement, Thibodeau said.

Cook was a member of the so-called "team" that tended to support Dumas proposals, while Thibodeau was in the camp that included Blais and then-councilors Carolyn Tedino and Kate Jackson.

Cook and Thibodeau were on opposite sides in 2004 when Cook opted for LaCasse and Thibodeau supported Tedino for president.

But times have changed.

"After some long conversations, we found that we have a lot in common on city issues and how the council should be run," Thibodeau said.

Cook agreed.

"Our approaches are basically very similar and we would be able to effectively work together," Cook said.

Neither would make promises about committee assignments prior to election.

Cook said Thibodeau would make a good vice president because of his calm and respectful demeanor and his knowledge of the issues, while Thibodeau said Cook would be a good president because of his knowledge of parliamentary procedure.

GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.