The Bossism Bogy

Looking out mournfully over the tumult in a resort meeting hall called the Playhouse, New York State Democratic Chairman John Burns last week asked the 345 state party committeemen: "Why have chaos when you can have order?" The question was rhetorical: New York Democrats regard chaos as their birthright. Even so, as they gathered to designate the regular party ticket for Governor, U.S. Senator and other statewide offices, they outdid themselves.

Item. After skillfully engineering the committee's overwhelming endorsement of his candidacy, Arthur J. Goldberg coolly told his backers that he would "waive" the designation and go into the primary like any other candidate.

Item. Led by U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm ("God help the Democratic Party"), embittered black and Puerto Rican committee members staged a walkout, when they feared that they were losing their fight for black representation on the ticket.

Item. Though there were already four candidates for the senatorial nomination, the committee voted to allow a fifth into the primary, despite the fact that his party registration had lapsed.

No Advantage. Goldberg and his gambit dominated the meeting, as he had the earlier stages of the competition. The former Labor Secretary, Supreme Court Associate Justice and United Nations Ambassador was acknowledged to be the best-known and probably the strongest Democrat available to run against Republican Incumbent Nelson Rockefeller. For months he had played hard to get. As he assumed various postures of noncandidacy, others crowded in. By convention time, there was a total of seven candidates.

When he finally decided last month to abandon coyness, Goldberg immediately attracted the support of party organization chiefs, who want a winner. Just as promptly, Goldberg was tagged as the boss-dominated candidate. Though the accusation is routinely made in many campaigns, the bossism bogy rankled Goldberg. As soon as the bosses had got their followers to designate Goldberg at the convention, he announced that he favored an open primary. "We will all be equal before the voters," he declared. "I don't want any advantage. I don't need any advantage. I have therefore decided to run in the primary without the benefit of the designation you have given me."

Though his statement caused even election-law experts to ponder the legal implications, the gambit amounted to very little. Goldberg was still the party's official designee, which means that his name will appear automatically on the June primary ballot. However, his backers will also circulate nominating petitions, the procedure that others without the blessing of the party must follow to get on the ballot. Though some of the opposition may drop out, Goldberg's major competition for the nomination currently includes Robert Morgenthau, the former U.S. Attorney in New York; Eugene Nickerson, Nassau county executive; and Howard Samuels, millionaire industrialist and former Under Secretary of Commerce.

Ethnic Unbalance. Yielding to the party's insurgent elements, Goldberg procured the committee's endorsement of a black candidate for Lieutenant Governor--Basil Paterson, now a state senator from Harlem. For the Senate spot, the state committee designated Theodore Sorensen, John Kennedy's biographer and onetime aide. He will face a stiff primary contest from Paul O'Dwyer, a popular labor lawyer and civil liberties advocate. The vote will be further diffused by the presence in the primary of U.S. Representative Richard Ottinger and Morris Abram, former president of Brandeis University.

The Democratic slate that emerged last week was unusual in its lack of ethnic balance. Goldberg is Jewish, as are the candidates chosen by the state committee for controller and Attorney General. Outside of New York City, a ticket including three Jews and a black could be a serious liability.

The Republican state committee meets this week in a sea of calm. Rockefeller faces no competition for the nomination and can concentrate both his energy and considerable financial resources on the general election. Republican Senator Charles Goodell, however, has evoked conservative wrath by swinging far to the liberal side on a number of issues and by his dovish stand on Viet Nam. He is being challenged by Ralph de Toledano, the conservative author of The Winning Side: The Case for Goldwater Republicanism. De Toledano is not well known but, with William F. Buckley as his mentor and campaign manager, he should be able to stage at least a lively effort.

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