In the wake of last week`s chaotic Democratic Party slatemaking session, Mayor Richard Daley reaffirmed Sunday that he would not endorse any candidates in the 1990 state and county primaries and called the bitter interparty feuding ”unfortunate.”
Unfortunate or not, a group of dissident Democrats continued its attempt to formulate a rival county slate. Their second meeting in two nights broke up early Monday without any candidates being chosen. The group indicated it would meet again Monday evening and try to make some decisions.
Daley said he was withholding his support from slated county and state candidates because he has ”enough problems running the city.”
The mayor also downplayed the importance of the slatemaking process, saying that young voters cast their ballots based more on the qualifications of candidates rather than party affiliation.
”People do not identify with an elephant or a donkey,” said Daley, referring to the symbols of the Republican and Democratic Parties. ”They identify with the individual candidate, their philosophy, what they stand for, what are they going to do. Politics is changing rapidly, not only in Chicago but across the country.
”I am not a ward committeeman, or township committeman. I am not one who is trying to put tickets together,” the mayor added. ”In the past, it was very critical. I think that, as mayor, I have enough problems without getting into county or state problems.”
Daley made his remarks after meeting briefly with several hundred members of the County Municipal Employees Supervisors and Foremen`s Union Local 1001. Although Daley has repeatedly stated that he would stay out of the 1990 Democratic primaries, his comments Sunday were the first since the Democratic Party Central Committee formally chose its slate of candidates Friday.
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The slate is headed by State Sen. Ted Lechowicz (D., Chicago), who was chosen to replace Cook County Board President George Dunne on the 1990 countywide ticket. Dunne announced last week that he would not seek re-election to the post he has held for 20 years.
The slating process was wracked by bitter debate, with the lineup-especially the Lechowicz nomination-angrily denounced by black
committeemen, who charged that blacks had not been given adequate representation on the ticket.
”This ticket is not balanced,” Ald. Danny Davis (29th) said Sunday.
”The number of blacks running on the ballot both for state and county offices does not match the contributions (blacks) made and continue to make to the Democratic Party. They are a solid base of votes.”
Incumbent Cook County State`s Atty. Cecil Partee, who is seeking election to the post he was appointed to, was the only black slated for a major countywide office. State Comptroller Roland Burris, who is running for attorney general, was the only black slated to one of the six state constitutional offices.
Black committeemen and several dozen other independent Democrats met Saturday and Sunday nights in an effort to choose their own candidates for the Cook County Board presidency. They debated whether to field an entire alternative county slate, or just to field candidates for certain positions, such as County Board president and county clerk.
Illinois Appellate Judge R. Eugene Pincham remained a possible candidate for the County Board presidency, and Ald. David Orr (49th) apparently had a great deal of support.
”The winning candidate, that`s who we want,” Ald. Bobby Rush (2d) said of Sunday`s meeting, which focused on the County Board presidency. ”We`re not at the point of urgency yet.”
The deadline to file petitions for an office is Dec. 18.
About 200 to 300 people attended the meeting at the offices of Ald. Allan Streeter (17th) at 7605 S. Halsted St., with many people taking the opportunity to express their opinions.
While not ruling out a run at the County Board presidency, Davis said,
”I asked the group not to consider me.” He declined to say whether he would be interested in another office, such as county clerk.
”The input has been had, and we`re going to try to move to the point of a decision tomorrow (night),” Davis said of Monday`s meeting.
Daley said it would be ”up to the voters to decide” whether the Democratic ticket is racially ”balanced,” and he urged Lechowicz and the other slated candidates to ”get out there and campaign.”
Dunne, who decided not to run for re-election amid strong opposition to increased county taxes, said the Democratic Party`s slated ticket ”is balanced,” while predicting that Lechowicz would receive significant black support.
”In the legislature, he supported civil rights,” Dunne said of Lechowicz, a little-known ward committeeman and party insider who political observers believe could be an easy target for self-styled reform candidates such as Winnetka attorney Richard Phelan and Orr, who was encouraged by Sunday`s meeting.
”I think people see that my candidacy can united a lot of people,” Orr said.
Daley denied that his decision not to endorse any candidates in the primaries was based on his anticipated 1991 re-election bid. But political analysts said that the mayor would have little to gain from choosing sides in the primaries, especially if the elections hinge on race.
They said that Daley will be the decided frontrunner in 1991, unless there is a radical change in the political landscape-such as the re-unification of the splintered black community.
And while Daley largely avoided the political wrangling that led to the Lechowicz nomination, he did send signals to committeemen that he did not want Ald. Edward Burke (14th) to head the ticket, according to participants in the slatemaking process.
The mayor opposed Burke`s candidacy for the Cook County Board presidency because of the potential opposition it could stir among blacks, who remember Burke`s role in the opposing Mayor Harold Washington during the so-called
”Council Wars,” the sources said.
Daley`s decision to sit out the slatemaking process and the primaries stands in sharp contrast to his father, the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, who all but single-handedly chose the Democratic Party ticket when he was in City Hall.
It also stands in contrast to Washington, who had tremendous influence over the makeup of Democratic tickets and warned party members not to oppose it.
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Meanwhile, former independent Ald. Dick Simpson threw his influence into the Democratic state`s attorney`s primary race Sunday when he announced he has signed on as campaign manager for Chicago attorney Raymond Smith. Other Democratic candidates include Partee, Raul Villalobos, former president of the Chicago school board, and Ald. Patrick O`Connor (40th).
Simpson said he will help Smith meet citizens in 300 meetings and coffees over the next three months and win endorsements from ethics-minded lawmakers, university deans and other city leaders likely to support reform.
A private lawyer, Smith, 58, was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1960 to 1964. Smith ran unsuccessfully for 42d Ward alderman against Ald. Burton Natarus in 1987.