NEWBURYPORT - Larry McCavitt said that at meetings in the city, audiences are often dominated by those with salt-and-pepper hair, bespectacled old-timers with birthdays from the 1940s, '50s and early '60s.

So it's refreshing, said McCavitt, the 64-year-old Ward 1 councilor, to see a wave of new people - with no long-standing ties to the city - get elected to the City Council and School Committee this week.

"It is remarkable in a way that when you go to any kind of meeting that there is political background to it, you look around the room and you see people with gray hair," he said. "We need to have some new blood. Us old-timers, we aren't going to be around forever."

She isn't a teenager or even 20-something, but Kathleen O'Connor Ives, at 30 years old, will be the youngest city councilor next year. And Ives, along with Stephanie Weaver on the School Committee and Ed Cameron, the new Ward 4 councilor, represent a new wave of politically active Newburyporters.

In a city known for supporting locals with long family ties to the city, the three leaders-elect represent a new trend in city politics: wide support for newcomers.

For example, combined, Ives, Cameron and Weaver have lived in the city for fewer years than the years Erford Fowler, who was ousted from office Tuesday, has served as a city councilor.

Ward 3 Councilor James Shanley, who ran unopposed in the election and has lived in the city for 12 years, said the "traditional model" of Newburyport politics is based on supporting candidates with a lineage, whose families and friends have lived in the community for years.

"But I think that is changing," Shanley said. "Who you know might not be as important as it used to be. It is sort of a different kind of politics."

McCavitt said people are much more open to voting for people based on their records and political platform rather than "the old way because they knew their family or knew you from school."

"I think it is the new trend," he said. "I don't know how many of those people are still left here, those who've lived here their whole lives. People really aren't put off by somebody brand-new coming in and running for office."

At-large City Councilor Tom Jones, though, is proof that it is not only newcomers whom voters are looking toward to lead the city. Jones, 49, is a fourth-generation Newburyporter who has lived in the city his entire life. He came in third place among the 10 candidates who ran for at-large councilor.

"I'm not going to buy into trends," Jones said. "Because Greg Earls got re-elected, and I think he is the most senior guy on the council, now. And I'm back, as one of those old guys."

Still, Jones said Ives' feat was impressive.

"Kathleen Ives is about as new a face as you can possibly find," he said. "Kathleen Ives did not win by just getting new peoples' votes. There are people who lived here a long time who thought enough of her to vote for her. It might just be that people voted for someone that they thought was really bright, smart and articulate.

"She didn't bring a position on a lot of long-standing, controversial issues. What she brought to the table here is that she is bright and articulate."

Kathleen O'Connor Ives

Ives, 30, moved to the city in May after graduating from law school and is now studying to take the bar examination.

When she first announced her intention to run for City Council, some in the city seemed to see her as a youngster who had all the answers.

But during Tuesday's election, Ives earned 2,060 votes, enough to put her in fourth position out of 10 candidates.

Ives not only beat out an incumbent councilor but also warded off Al Lavender and Mary Carrier, both of whom are former mayors and have many connections in the city.

She also beat out Robert Kelleher, a lifelong resident of the city, and 40-year resident Bill Deans.

Shanley said Ives was a "complete unknown" but was able to make her name known through campaigning and a solid political platform.

"She is very well spoken. She comes across as knowledgeable and energetic," he said. "I think it is hugely impressive."

Ed Cameron

Cameron, who has lived in the city for just five years, beat Erford Fowler for the Ward 4 City Council seat.

Fowler, who at 69 is one of the oldest councilors in the region, has lived in Newburyport his entire life. He is about to complete his seventh consecutive term on the council and has participated on many boards in the city, including the headline-grabbing Newburyport Redevelopment Authority.

But despite Fowler's history in the city, Cameron came away with 53 percent of the vote and will soon be sworn in as the new Ward 4 councilor - the first time that has been said in 14 years.

Cameron quickly made his name known among the city's established political circles by becoming active in Newburyport politics. He was the city's coordinator for Deval Patrick's gubernatorial campaign and serves on the Newburyport Democratic City Committee.

Cameron's efforts for the Patrick campaign paid off. Newburyport voters overwhelmingly backed Patrick in the 2006 election.

Stephanie Weaver

Weaver, meanwhile, has been in the city six and a half years, still a relatively short time for a city that cherishes historical bonds.

Like Cameron, she has been politically active. She took a leading role in the pro-override group that formed earlier this year. While the override to fund the schools failed by a wide margin, the campaign allowed Weaver an opportunity to be intimately involved in city politics.

A mother of twins at the Bresnahan School, she's been a regular at School Committee meetings.

And Weaver, 39, didn't just win a spot on the School Committee, she topped the ticket in her first time running for the office.

"These people, they are fresh," Shanley said. "They are not bringing preconceived ideas to the table. They do not bring any baggage."

McCavitt and Shanley both said some of the change comes from a changing population.

Shanley said over the past 15 years residents have changed, as many people from other communities move in, many of them who are young.

"I do believe there is somewhat of a demographical shift in some ways," Shanley said. "I think they would naturally respond to someone closer in age to them and someone with similar life experience and education to them."

McCavitt said, "Since I've been here, I've noticed a change in the population. I think the fact that the population has become so fluid, a good background and a good platform can get you elected."

Other new members to the council and the School Committee - Brian Derrivan and Nick deKanter, respectively - are a bit more entrenched in the city. Derrivan has lived in Newburyport for 18 years and previously ran for council, and deKanter has lived in the city for 12 years and has participated in many city organizations.

Derrivan, though, who won the Ward 5 seat, knocked off two-term incumbent Bruce Vogel.

Who are they

* Stephanie Weaver

Age: 38

Years in the city: 61/2

Address: 14 Bradbury Lane

Occupation: Sales associate, Rhumb Line Yacht Sales

* Ed Cameron

Age: 45

Years in the city: 5

Address: 17 Oakland St.

Occupation: Associate executive director, Community Teamwork in Lowell

* Kathleen O'Connor Ives:

Age: 30

Years in the city: half a year

Address: 19 Spring St.

Occupation: law school graduate; studying for bar exam