Mending Fences

CHICAGO--"Race has nothing to do with this." Greg Smith, a lifelong Democrat from Chicago's white North west side, was on the street election day--Tuesday--selling the Republican mayoral ticket.

"They're going to burn the city down," he said. "But I would rather have to protect my home from the riots than vote for a man like [Black Democrat Harold] Washington."

Bill Johnson, 18, cast the first vote of his life for the Republican candidate, businessman Bernard Epton, wearing a green Epton t-shirt, a "Democrats for Epton" badge, and one of the city's ubiquitous "Bigots for Bernie" buttons. He whispered his case against Washington in a corner of the Epton election night headquarters.

"Look, if he becomes mayor, they'll think stronger about themselves and take over the city," he said.

For Rose Mungon, spreading Washington pamphlets on the city's affluent take front. Epton's campaign was "the most racist in history."

"He's the great white hope," she said. "I don't want this to reflect on any individual personally, but white people is the most low-down, dirty humans God ever let live."

Squeaking to a 51.4 percent majority to become the first Black mayor in Chicago's history, Washington--a two-term congressman--said Wednesday his "most important concern" would be to heal and unify a city divided by a seven-week campaign of unusual racial bitterness.

"Fat chance," suggested Bill Johnson. Many residents--Black and white--voiced similar doubts.

"I think it's going to leave its scars. It has to." Charlotte Goss, a Washington supporter, said. "I came through here with Martin Luther King in the '60s. I guess I felt we had accomplished something, I was wrong."

Some on both sides predicted violent outbursts no matter who won. A bolstered Chicago police force was on special alert election night in sensitive neighborhoods, according to police sources.

But by the time the long night was over no incident had occured. The only outburst was a spontaneous celebration by Washington supporters in the streets outside the victory party.

Inside the convention hall, by 1:30 Wednesday morning, 15,000 supporters chanted "We Want Harold." Washington workers seemed awed by the emotions and expectations their campaign had tapped.

Washington's party was originally scheduled for a downtown hotel, but his campaign staff at the last minute changed the location to the huge hall on the South side to accomodate the crowd.

"Do you know what's happening here?" an aide shouted. Everyone was awaiting the candidate. Waves of cheers rebounded from corner to corner as the crowd surged forward against police barriers. "Can you feel it?" he mouthed over deafening cheers. "It's not a man. It's a movement."

Someone raised a banner reading "Rizzo is next," referring to the opponent in a May primary of Philadelphia's Black mayoral candidate Wilson Goode. The crowd erupted again.

Washington finally emerged and made a careful call for unity. "Those of you who have opposed this election--I assure you I understand your needs and desires," he said. "I want to reach out my hand in fellowship and friendship to every living soul in this city."

"The whole nation is watching us," Washington added, saying his vote total represented "a new Democratic coalition."

But whether that coalition will eventually include white "Democrats for Epton" is unclear. Few of them made it to the Epton campaign' party in an elegant hotel ballroom. For these traditional Daley Democrats, to vote with the Republicans doesn't mean you should associate with them.

But after the harshness of their campaign attacks it is hard to imagine them associating with Washington supporters either. They were blunt enough in sounding Epton's campaign slogan "Before it's too late." And on Election Day, some Epton workers in the 35th Ward, including Orlando Munoz, were even spreading the rumour that Washington was a child molester.

Opponents called Washington a "criminal" and a "felon" because of his 1972 conviction for not filing tax returns Washington himself had made vague allegations about Epton's story of psychological treatment. The bitterness did not end with the voting. Epton refused to attend Washington's Wednesday "unity lunch" with city leaders claiming he was invited too late to change prior travel plans.

And there seems little chance of reconciliation, with an Epton supporter commenting after the polls closed. "Now the Blacks'll get real cocky. There's gonna be trouble for sure."

Yet for all the obvious racism. Chicago, home of the biggest and most notorious modern-day political machine, is hardly the city for a political morality play. With patronage, personal connections and city contract money at stake, there is little that is black and white about Chicago mayoral politics. Chicago is the only big city without a non-political civil service. The stakes here are jobs and power, not abstract principles. Victory means gravy, while defeat means unemployment.

The Democratic Party keeps peace--and power--by promising fair shakes to competing interests, which are mostly Chicago's fractions ethnic enclaves.

But as Blacks have found strength as a formidable voting bloc, they have demanded attention from a city budget that has traditionally ignored their neighborhoods and their workforce.

For this reason, the election has politicized and polarized the entire city. Tuesday's 82 percent turnout, the highest percentage since 1944 and the highest raw number in Chicago's history, shows the direct importance of this city's politics to its residents.

"Washington wants to tear down the system," said Greg Smith, while handing out Epton buttons. "He thinks patronage is bad Patronage has kept this city running efficiently for five generations."

Washington has pledged to tame the machine and to reform its "patronage army" of city workers. But the long-excluded Blacks of Chicago's slum-ridden South Side who showed up 15,000 strong at his victory party, didn't discuss the merit system.

"Jobs," many were saving to each other. "A piece of the pie, man, a piece of the pie we did it."

Still, if he wants to hold his own in City Council. Washington acknowledges he must yield to the beleaguered Democratic machine. On Wednesday he repeated a pledge that there will be "no shakeup to disturb people" in city government.

Reaching out to white machine Democrats, keeping his promises to reform Chicago, and satisfying the yearnings of his needy constituency--they all may prove contradictory goals for the 61-year-old mayor-elect, an aide agreed on Wednesday.

While Washington pledged to bring Chicago together, visiting Black leaders bore differing conclusions over the stability of the traditional national Democratic coalition of Black and white interests in light of Chicago's election.

Walter Fauntroy, a Congressional delegate from Washington, D.C., said that Chicago's election indicated that rank-and-file white Democrats "are not yet ready" to support national Black causes. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader, and Fauntroy affirmed their interest in mounting a Black presidential candidacy to shake up complacent white leaders.

Blacks are "a very big factor in politics now," Jackson said. He added that a Black contender could take enough delegates into the Democratic national convention to shake the platform and even--as a kingmaker--choose the nominee.

But Rep William H. Gray (D-Penn), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and a supporter of Philadelphia's Black mayoral candidate Goode, said that the Chicago election has no bearing on the viability of a black Presidential candidate.

Chicago's racial trouble stems from strong ethnic enclaves that have very little contact with one another," he said.

The race was the kind of ethnic power struggle long-apparent in urban politics, and didn't reflect any national tensions. Gray said, adding that Goode had no such problems in Philadelphia, in his race against former mayor Frank Rizzo.

But whatever the nature of Chicago's turmoil, the new mayor must move to ease it. On Wednesday afternoon at a press conference following the "unity lunch." Washington said. "There is divisiveness. We are aware of it. For some reason, we want to keep it hidden, but it has risen to the surface. There will be friction recurrent friction. One must be sensitive to different cultures, different ideologies and colors."

"It is my responsibility to reach out into every neighborhood, every enclave, every citizen," he added.

At 2:30 Wednesday morning, standing on then cars streaming into the streets and honking then horns. Washington supporters seemed ready to be friends.

A young Black man stood at a doorway, slapping palms with jubilant Blacks as they passed by A white man came through and held out his hand. The slapper looked perplexed.

"Well," he said finally, "can't leave nobody out." They grinned and touched hands.