Carl Stokes Drops Out

With Cleveland's mayoral election coming up this fall, the telegrammed invitations to dinner at Mayor Carl Stokes' were not unusual. After cocktails and a light buffet, Stokes asked his 50 guests --bankers, business executives, political intimates--into the living room. "I have a speech to make." They stood in stunned silence as Stokes announced that he would not run again. He made his decision public in a television address later that night. "I have spent the last 14 years in local government; I have been privileged to serve in high office during America's most trying times. But my service has, of necessity, been limited to a relatively small constituency. I want now to expand my efforts."

His desire to move out of local politics comes at the end of 31 frustrating years as mayor of a troubled city. Supporters believe he may be seeking the late Whitney Young's post as director of the Urban League or the Democratic vice-presidential nomination.

Ten Dead. When Stokes was elected in 1967, Cleveland, like half a dozen other cities, had experienced bitter riots. Stokes, the first black mayor of a major urban center, became a symbol of hope in Cleveland; and in the glare of national attention, the city embarked on an ambitious program of revitalization and reconciliation called "Cleveland: Now!" The program, to be financed with private donations as a seed fund for federal grants, had the backing of the white business establishment and much of the rest of the community.

The honeymoon between the mayor and his white supporters ended in a shootout between police and black militants during his first year in office. Ten people, including three policemen, were killed during the gun fight, and Stokes' decision to remove white policemen from the black neighborhood --credited by some with averting a holocaust, criticized by others as giving in to militants--split the city along racial lines. Months later it was discovered that $10,000 of "Cleveland: Now!" funds had gone to a militant group, and part of the funds had been used to purchase guns for the bloody shootout.

The principal instrument of opposition to Stokes has become the city council. The issue that solidified the division was public housing. Stokes is a strong proponent of public housing (his family lived in a low-income project when he was young), and his belief that such developments should be dispersed throughout the city has divided even the black community. When Stokes announced plans for a low-cost housing project in Lee-Seville, a middle-class black neighborhood, the council blocked Stokes' proposals. An attempt to put public housing into the white, blue-collar west side was similarly blocked.

Boycott. Relations between Stokes and the white-dominated council have deteriorated to the point where the mayor and his top aides last month began a boycott of the council's weekly meetings. Council President Anthony Garofoli, in turn, accuses Stokes of playing confrontation politics. Says Garofoli: "He's divided the council racially; he's divided the city racially."

Stokes replies that the council members represent small constituencies. Says Stokes: "The result is a parochialism that prevents cooperation. Embattled? Yes, but I'm voluntarily embattled. I've insisted on running this city and taking on everyone I've thought was frustrating what was good for this town."

No Sweepers. Against this background, Stokes and the council have put forth separate tax proposals--both defeated by the voters. The cutbacks came quickly: 1,700 city employees have been laid off, recreation and health programs were reduced, Clevelanders now have to haul their garbage to the sidewalk for collection, and street sweepers are unavailable to clean up after the collectors. No policemen or firemen have been laid off, but none will be hired, and the police academy has, been closed. The hiring freeze is certain to erase the 2.1% decrease in crime in downtown Cleveland, which Stokes' administration had achieved. Last month came the final blow to Clevelanders' pride: the city was left off the Railpax passenger route.

Some of Cleveland's problems can be solved with additional state and federal funds, but recovering from the crisis in confidence presents the bigger challenge. Said one businessman: "When you start with great expectations and not much happens, the bloom is off the rose very quickly. Maybe it was all just a fairy tale." For Cleveland and Stokes, the "fairy tale" has ended.

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