With just more than a week to go until the City Council elects a new leader, the race seems to shaping into a two person contest.

Council Members Bill de Blasio, of Brooklyn, and Christine Quinn, of Manhattan seem to be solidifying their place at the head of the pack of the seven candidates vying for speaker.

“It looks like it’s Quinn versus de Blasio,” Council Member Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side of Manhattan, told The New York Sun yesterday. “I really believe it’s 50-50.”

The candidates have been hushed about their strategies for putting together a winning combination. But while much of the city relaxes this holiday week, the would-be speakers will be making a final push for support be fore the 51-member Legislature votes on January 4.

The winner will need a majority – 26 votes – to secure the position, which is considered one of the most powerful city government posts because of its power over land-use items, development, and the budget.

“It’s going to be constant conversations with council members and other important leaders,” Mr. de Blasio, said. “It will be wall-to-wall from this point on.”

He said only that he has “double digit” support and a “diverse coalition.” One of his backers, Council Member Letitia James, expanded on that and said 15 members were behind him.

Ms. Quinn said she would be “trying to garner as much support as I can in the final 10 days.” She would not say how many members she has backing her.

While insiders say that Mr. de Blasio has more commitments now than anyone else in the race, there are still many outstanding factors that could affect the outcome.

For example, none of the Democratic county leaders who have wielded influence in the past have declared support for anyone yet.

Political analysts said Queens, which has historically kept many of its members together and has a good relationship with Ms. Quinn, would probably not make a decision until after the new year.

The question is, will they opt to get behind somebody like Mr. de Blasio, who will probably try to sway them with the support he already has, or will they choose to back somebody else and change the landscape of the race?

The other council members in the running are David Weprin, Leroy Comrie, and Melinda Katz, all of Queens; Lewis Fidler, of Brooklyn, and Joel Rivera, of the Bronx.

Mr. Weprin said last night that it was “foolish to count anyone out” and that there was “a lot of double and triple counting.”

“I don’t know if you can believe any of these numbers,” Mr. Weprin said in a phone interview. “A lot of these votes are very rubbery and they’ll switch from one side to another in five seconds. I think everybody is looking to see what Queens is going to do.”

“I’m very much alive,” he said. “I’m very actively running. I don’t think Queens has made up its mind and they control the largest bloc of votes.”

The new leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Assemblyman Vito Lopez, could not be reached for comment yesterday. He has, however, said that he is trying to broker the best deal for his own borough. That could either mean backing someone from Brooklyn or delivering votes to another candidate in exchange for key committee chairmanships or other leadership positions in the council. There are also other coalitions forming, trying to do the same.

Ms. Brewer said this year was far different from the election in 2001, when the now outgoing speaker, Gifford Miller, was elected. In that race there were dozens of new council members that he had helped to elect. This time there are only eight new members. There are, however, still dozens of competing interests and entities, like labor unions, trying to influence the outcome.

Adversaries in Speaker’s Race

BILL DE BLASIO

Age: 44

District: Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and other parts of Brooklyn. 7Education: Bachelor’s degree from New York University and master’s from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Council: Entered in 2002 and is chairman of General Welfare Committee.

Career: Managed Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign and served as N.Y. chairman for John Edwards’s 2004 presidential campaign. Before that he served under Andrew Cuomo at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Other: Lives in Park Slope with his wife, Chirlane McCray, and their two children.

CHRISTINE QUINN

Age: 39

District: Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, and other parts of Manhattan.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Connecticut.

Council: Entered in 1999 and is chairwoman of the Health Committee.

Career: Headed New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. Before that served as head of the Housing Justice Campaign and chief of staff to former Council Member Thomas Duane, now a state senator.

Other: Lives in Chelsea with her partner, Kim Catullo.