The Wooing of Wagner

Perhaps it is hard to tell the players without a program at Yankee Stadium, but in this year's New York City mayoralty contest identifying the players is no problem. Most are familiar old pros, sweaty and dust-grimed from years of trying to make saves in right or left field. It is hard to tell, however, which team they are on. Last week two men who have often been on opposite sides--Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Alex Rose, the state's Liberal Party chieftain--joined to announce that they had agreed on who should be the next mayor. Their stated purpose was to save New York City after eight years of erratic rule by Republican-turned-Democrat John Vliet Lindsay, who has dropped out of the race.

Still stranger than the Rocky-Rose partnership was their choice of a savior: Democrat Robert Ferdinand Wagner, 62, the man who had served three terms as mayor, from 1954 to 1965. As mayor, Wagner made some advances in civil rights, increased the police force and kept peace with the unions; but in many other areas he exhibited a glacial inertia, and he left the city with more potholes in its streets and more holes in its civic pride than he had inherited. Indeed, Rockefeller and Rose supported Lindsay in 1965 as the man who could best "save" New York City after it had slid under Mayor Wagner. Last week Wagner played a coy waiting game, but the betting was that he would eventually accept the bid from Rocky and Rose.

Why was the bid made? Rockefeller seems determined to seek an unprecedented fifth term as Governor in 1974, in hopes of using the office as a springboard for another presidential bid in 1976, though he will then be 68 years old. To help his chances of re-election next year, Rocky wants a friend in New York's city hall--someone who will neither get into embarrassing fights with him nor challenge him for the governorship. He worried that three possible candidates for mayor might be less amenable than Wagner. They are: 1) Lindsay, who could always change his mind and run again, 2) Democratic Congressman Mario Biaggi, a conservative and much decorated former policeman, who in his Bronx office dispenses help to complaining constituents in the style of the Godfather, and 3) Republican State Senator John Marchi of Staten Island, an able conservative who is indisputably his own man. An overriding consideration: Rocky wants some control over city hall.

It is not yet known who first dreamed the seemingly impossible dream of enlisting Wagner to carry the standards of Rockefeller and Rose. Wagner says that he bumped into Rocky three weeks ago at the premiere of the movie Lost Horizon (also, appropriately, a remake), and from their conversation emerged the vision of Wagner's recapturing his own Shangri-La as mayor. As Wagner tells it: "He said he thought it would be a great thing if I ran. And he added: 'Gee, we fought, but at least you kept your word.' " Liberal Rose, who figured that Wagner was the man most likely to stop Biaggi or Marchi from becoming mayor, corralled his caucus and rammed through an endorsement of Wagner. Rocky's road was rougher. He had to win over five New York City G.O.P. county leaders and their executive committees. Bronx Leader John Calandra had already denounced Wagner as "a moron." The other leaders more or less shared his view. But Rockefeller summoned all five to Albany, had high state officials work them over, and won what his spokesman (not the leaders) called "a great desire to support the decision." To Marchi, the choice was brutally clear: stay out of the race, or lose all hope of party financial backing and of getting his bills through the legislature. But individualistic Marchi might yet choose to run against Wagner in the May 31 G.O.P. primary.

For his part, Wagner kept setting tougher and tougher conditions. He must, Wagner insisted, pick his own running mates. To charges that he would be the captive of Rocky and Rose, Wagner snapped with unwonted acerbity: "I've never been a puppet and I never intend to be a puppet." Repeatedly he proclaimed: "I am a liberal Democrat and always have been." As for next year's gubernatorial race: "I will support a good Democratic candidate."

To the last, some G.O.P. county committeemen gagged at having the Wagner candidacy rammed down their throats. New York County (Manhattan) committeemen swallowed passively, but Kings (Brooklyn) refused to submit. So did Richmond (Staten Island). In rowdy Saturday sessions, however, Queens and The Bronx gave their support to Wagner. Rocky and Rose had won, but not overwhelmingly. Still, it was only the first inning of the game, and Wagner had yet to say firmly that he would play ball.

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