OCEANSIDE -- In debates, interviews and meetings, the city's two mayoral candidates -- incumbent Jim Wood and Councilman Rocky Chavez -- often trade stern looks and fighting words.

"I talk a lot about opportunity and change," said Chavez, 57. "I think Jim promotes fear."

Wood, 60, gave a similarly unflattering description of his rival: "The way he talks to you and the public is not the way he talks to other people," Wood told a reporter. "He's very intimidating and very demanding."

Gritty elections aren't unusual for Oceanside, and these candidates have never been simpatico.

They last campaigned against each other in 2004, when Wood took the mayor's seat from Terry Johnson. Chavez finished third in that race.

While each is a Republican, Wood and Chavez represent opposing political factions that have long wrestled over a voting majority at Oceanside City Hall.

Since late 2006, it has been advantage Chavez, who numbers among his allies conservative Councilmen Jack Feller and Jerry Kern. But two council seats are up for grabs Nov. 4, and it remains to be seen whether the balance of power will shift.

"They have a voting majority that I haven't been able to work with well," Wood said. "So I'd like to see some similar or like minds on the council."

Wood has said he works well with Councilwoman Esther Sanchez and gets along with candidate Charles "Chuck" Lowery, a bakery owner. The trio is often described as this election's pro-neighborhood slate.

Chavez is backing Feller and school board Trustee Jim Gibson; all are considered business-friendly and pro-development.

Most major endorsements have split along those battle lines.

Wood, Sanchez and Lowery are favored by environmental groups and the city's police and firefighter unions. Chavez, Feller and Gibson have the support of the San Diego County Republican Party.

Opposing votes cast by Wood and Chavez on some recent, high-profile issues have come up repeatedly on the campaign trail.

Wood opposed plans for a controversial concrete plant in central Oceanside that Chavez backed.

Chavez voted against the sale of city-owned property beneath the Marina Towers building at the foot of Oceanside Harbor -- a deal the rest of the council championed.

Perhaps their most strident disagreements have dealt with the city's public safety unions.

Wood supported sizable raises for police officers in 2006 and earlier voted to phase out the Fire Department's emergency medical technicians and replace them with firefighter-paramedics -- decisions that he said have made Oceanside safer.

Chavez has accused Wood, a retired police detective, of kowtowing to public safety groups to the detriment of the city at large. "When the unions have been walking for the past two weeks for his campaign, you need to wonder what's going on," said Chavez, a retired Marine.

Last month, during a debate broadcast on Oceanside cable television station KOCT, Chavez blamed Wood's governing style for an exodus of city department heads in recent years.

Wood rapped Chavez for the demise of the School of Business and Technology, where Chavez was chief education officer. The school board refused to renew the school's charter this summer because of mounting debt.

"He gloats that he's the economic development and financial guru," Wood said during the televised debate. "(But) the first time he did something in public it was a failure."

Chavez did a slow burn, tapping his finger on the desk to punctuate a response:

"Success in education, Jim, is not about money. Success in education is children having hope. That they know that they have a future."

Both candidates have supporters who are willing to back their campaigns. Even in a sagging economy, Wood and Chavez have had fundraising success.

Chavez recently reported $97,167 in contributions through Oct. 1, though that total included $36,892 in outstanding loans he made to his campaign in 2004.

Wood reported $52,536 in contributions.

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.