Jackson Weighs In

In a lackluster mayoralty campaign that made up in the number of candidates fielded (eleven in all) for what it lacked in zest, Atlanta's 35-year-old black vice mayor, Maynard Jackson, all 275 Ibs. of him, broke from the pack last week and finished first with 46.6% of the vote. In next week's runoff, Jackson seems likely to beat incumbent Mayor Sam Massell, who finished second with 19.8%. Running a close third, with 19.1% of the vote, was Charles Weltner, a U.S. Congressman from 1963 to 1967 who was one of the South's first white liberals in national politics.

The campaign's only other black candidate, State Senator Leroy Johnson, sapped some of Jackson's strength this time out, but could not keep Jackson from winning a giant 81% of the black vote. What has some observers worried, however, is the possibility of a deep racial split in the runoff. Jackson polled only 6% of the white vote. It is possible that white voters may have been confused by the proliferation of candidates: in a two-man, black v. white race, they may turn out in significant enough numbers to defeat Jackson. Though 52.5% of Atlanta's population is black, only 49% of its registered voters are. If Massell can bestir apathetic white voters, and Jackson falters seriously with the blacks, the outcome could be a surprise.

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