Chicago`s regular Democrats are discussing a radical change in election procedure: making the 1987 mayoral race nonpartisan. This would be something like giving the Chicago Cubs a new name, say ”Ballplayers Anonymous.”
The purpose would be to help the regulars defeat Mayor Washington, which seems to be the only purpose they have left. As things stand, the Regular Democrats apparently fear that 1987 will be a repeat of 1983: Mr. Washington winning with solid black support while the ”ethnic” vote is split between at least two white candidates. In a nonpartisan election, candidates would run without party labels; if no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote there would be a runoff between the two highest vote getters. This would at least guarantee a one-on-one race between Mr. Washington and whatever candidate the regulars supported.
Voters would have to approve this change in a binding referendum. Anti-Washington aldermen have already started promoting a referendum next spring, using a brand-new sales pitch; they speak reverently of nonpartisan elections as ”true democracy.” Coming from such veteran angle-players as Ald. Richard Mell (33d), this is slapstick at its funniest.
Ald. Edward Vrdolyak (10th) offers a more refined form of comedy. As the mayor`s most dedicated enemy, Mr. Vrdolyak might well want a nonpartisan election for tactical reasons, but as chairman of the Cook County Democratic organization he can`t very well endorse the idea. So he calls the subject
”hypothetical” and refuses to discuss it in public.
For a city as steeped in party politics as Chicago, the notion of making elections nonpartisan is simply weird. But it does indicate how desperate the city council`s anti-Washington majority has become. Its members will try anything to get rid of Mr. Washington, even if it means junking everything they supposedly stood for.
One of the few things to be said for the Chicago Democratic organization is that it is a deep-rooted tradition; generations of voters have stood by it. But the geniuses pushing this plan seem quite willing to throw out the tradition and whatever self-respect goes with it just to get themselves back in and Mr. Washington out.
The old-style machine pols might not have had high ethical standards, but they wouldn`t have offered the party banner for sale.
