FIGHTING CITY HALL

Across the state in the 7th District (Philadelphia's western end), Mary Hurtig is angry. A former first-grade teacher in New York City, Hurtig, 34, divides her time among her family (she and her husband, a physician, have two small children), modern dance and reform politics. The oppressive political machine run by Mayor Frank L. Rizzo switched its support to Jackson after Governor Milton J. Shapp dropped out. Now such Udall backers as Hurtig and her running mate, Pamela Reid, 30, a college psychology teacher, are not even permitted to speak at ward meetings.

"It's offensive," says Hurtig. "We believe in primaries, not in brokered conventions. Why should Humphrey be allowed to take it without running? Why should people give their votes blind to Frank Rizzo?"

Hurtig first heard Udall last year at an Americans for Democratic Action dinner. "He was witty, so human," she recalls. "He gave me an awareness that the '60s were really over, things have changed, and the times of plenty are gone." Conveying that affection in her sprawling district is difficult. The area is more than 60% black, and many of the blacks seem committed to no one.

Hurtig and Reid campaign together. The pictures on their campaign flyer feature Udall with Charles Bowser, a black political leader who is opposed to Rizzo and supports Udall. But as Hurtig and Reid approach shoppers at a supermarket, it becomes clear from the response that Udall would need months, rather than days, to make a dent in Philadelphia. Moreover, the Udall apparatus in the city is tiny and contentious.

Each night Hurtig and Reid call at least five friends, asking each to call five others. They use lists from the 1972 McGovern campaign, in which they met. They give neighborhood children quarters for distributing leaflets. When they consider their prospects realistically, they console themselves with the knowledge that every vote they get is a blow against the local machine and an assist to Udall's survival beyond the Pennsylvania primary.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.