Someone Will Pick Up the Pieces

It almost looked as if winning the elections was the worst thing that could have happened to the Democrats in New York State. For 29 lean years they had been in the minority in both of Albany's legislative chambers. After the Johnson landslide, they awoke to find that they were all set to take over -- except that they did not seem to know how. Intent on blunting the new majority's power, Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller quickly summoned a special session of the old legislature, forced through a reapportionment bill favoring Republicans and two measures that put $617 million of the state's bond reserves out of Democratic reach. Said Lame Duck Rochester Republican Assemblyman Eugene Goddard: "It's a common practice when you're about to be taken over by the Huns to change the locks on the doors."

But by last week the "Huns" were hardly in shape to take over anything, and on the eve of the new legislative session they could not even agree on who should be their majority leaders.

Struggle. In a sense, it was only the latest round of the notorious fight between New York City's Mayor Robert Wagner and his old foe, Bronx Boss Charles Buckley. What made the battle intriguing to political fight fans far beyond the borders of New York State was the fact that Buckley is an ally of Bobby Kennedy's and backed him for Senator when Wagner was still trying to keep Bobby out of the state--suggesting that the real struggle may be between Kennedy and Wagner over eventual control of New York.

The current conflict turned on two jobs--majority leader of the state senate and speaker of the state assembly. Wagner backed a couple of proven mediocrities, while a coalition headed by Buckley decided to push two other candidates who were hardly less mediocre but both good Buckley men--State Senator Julian B. Erway, 65, a conservative Albany lawyer and cattle breeder, and Assemblyman Stanley Steingut, 44, Brooklyn's influential anti-Wagner Democratic leader.

No sooner had Erway been designated for the senate job than the Wagner forces started fighting back. Four liberal state senators from New York City charged that Erway was a "Goldwater Democrat" who had voted with the Republicans on occasion, had fought a measure to ban discrimination in public housing. Erway countered the discrimination charge with the feeble defense that he was on excellent terms with his Negro maid, and that during Civil War days his farm had served as a station on the Underground Railroad.

For his part, Wagner cried "Boss-ism!" and sulked. Resistance to Erway's nomination began to mount steadily, and by last week even Boss Buckley was backing away. The likely outcome: Erway will be sacrificed by Buckley & Co. to allow Wagner his own choice for majority senate leader, in return for which Wagner will accept Steingut as assembly leader.

Shambles. Paralyzed by their feud, the New York Democrats let some of their long-awaited chances slip away. The leadership fight held up the slicing of a $4,000,000 patronage pie in the shape of some 400 legislative housekeeping jobs; thus the Democrats had to depend on Republican holdovers to turn on the lights, call the roll, and even chauffeur the official Cadillacs when the legislature convenes this week. The Democrats also failed to appoint committee chairmen, and in the vacuum Rockefeller happily stole the Democrats' thunder, announced some items of his own program, including several proposals that minority Democrats had been vainly pushing for years.

On the surface at least, Bobby Kennedy, off skiing in Colorado, stood well back from the fight. In fact, some Democrats criticized him for not living up to his implied campaign promise to restore order among New York Democrats. But his partisans were sure that Kennedy was biding his time, would make his bid for control of the state party organization when it came time to pick a gubernatorial candidate two years hence. Said one Kennedy lieutenant: "Remember one thing--the greater the shambles, the easier it is to pick up the pieces."

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