Black Mayor Likely to Cement Hold on Chicago Politics : Exit Polls Project Washington Reelection

Mayor Harold Washington was favored to win reelection Tuesday and assume the late Richard J. Daley’s mantle as the unchallenged political boss of the city, as voters settled a lengthy tug-of-war between blacks and whites for control of City Hall.

Moments after the polls closed, all three network-owned television stations said their surveys of voters leaving the booths showed that Washington would win the contest over white challengers Edward R. Vrdolyak and Donald Haider.

CBS predicted a Washington victory with 53% of the vote and gave Vrdolyak 42% and Haider 4%. NBC projected that Washington would get more than 50% of the vote, Vrdolyak about 40% and Haider less than 10%

‘Strong Feel’ for Mayor

“We see some trends that are very encouraging,” said Ken Glover, Washington’s campaign director, as early returns trickled in. “We don’t know exactly what the mandate will be, but . . . there is a mandate, and there is a strong feel for this mayor all over the city.”

If victorious, Washington, 64, would become the first incumbent mayor to last more than one term since Daley, elected five times before he died in office in 1976.

But of more importance was Washington’s hope that a convincing victory would cement his control over the City Council and the Democratic Party apparatus. During his first four years, both organizations were riddled by dissension and racially tinged infighting.

Turnout at the polls was relatively light and trouble-free despite the sudden, last-minute decision Sunday by Cook County Assessor Thomas C. Hynes, a third white contender, to quit the race and narrow the field against Washington.

Revival Predicted

Vrdolyak, a bitter Democratic rival of the mayor’s who became a third-party candidate, and Republican Haider had predicted that Hynes’ withdrawal would revitalize voter interest in their flagging campaigns.

However, election officials projected at midday that only about 72% of the city’s 1.2 million voters would cast ballots, far fewer than the record 82% turnout in the 1983 mayoral election, when Washington narrowly beat Republican Bernard Epton in another battle marred by racial overtones.

Media and private campaign polls conducted before Hynes pulled out suggested that Washington, aided by virtually monolithic support from the city’s black voters, could outpoll all his challengers combined. Black and white voting strength in the nation’s third-largest city is about equal.

But also central to the success of any second Washington term was the outcome of several contests for seats on the 50-member City Council. Led by Vrdolyak, one of its members, the council rebelled against Washington during most of his first term, as it blocked his appointments and programs. Only in the last year was the mayor able to get a tenuous one-vote grip on power in the council, after a court-ordered special aldermanic election trimmed the size of the Vrdolyak bloc.

Some Switch Sides

A handful of longtime opponents of Washington in the City Council defected to his camp in the waning days of the campaign as prospects for unseating him appeared to dim. However, some pro-Washington council incumbents faced tough reelection challenges, including Aldermen Clifford Kelley and Wallace Davis, who face federal fraud and racketeering charges for allegedly taking money to influence city contracts.

Kelley is free on bond but Davis, who has a long history of scrapes with the law, has been in jail for the last month after he allegedly pistol-whipped his former secretary. Since his incarceration he has attended one City Council meeting, accompanied by four U.S. marshals. He reportedly neglected to get an absentee ballot because he thought he would be out by election time.

A spokesman for Illinois Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan said Tuesday’s election was one of the cleanest and most incident-free in Chicago history. That was in marked contrast to what happened at the polls only last February, when Washington beat former Mayor Jane M. Byrne, 53% to 47%, in the Democratic mayoral primary. Then, complaints poured into election and law-enforcement agencies when election judges in many pivotal wards handed thousands of voters party ballots different from the ones they had requested.

Fewer Than 400 Complaints

Tuesday, Tom Leach, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said the board logged fewer than 400 election-related complaints during the day, a squeaky-clean tally by the standards of most elections in a city renowned for Election Day shenanigans.

“It’s been amazingly quiet,” Leach said, “a real pleasant surprise.”

Election Day saw no letup in campaigning. Washington cruised the city in a large bus, stumping for votes to the end. Meanwhile, many blacks, buoyant over Washington’s victory prospects, wore the stubs of their ballots like badges of honor after the mayor called on supporters to pin the receipts to their lapels as a show of support.

Haider and Vrdolyak showed up at Wrigley Field, hoping to capitalize on enthusiasm for the hometown Cubs, who opened the season against the St. Louis Cardinals. As he shook hands with fans, Vrdolyak compared himself to boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, who upset heavily favored Marvin Hagler in their match Monday night for the world middleweight title.

“You know what Sugar Ray did yesterday?” Vrdolyak asked supporters rhetorically as he walked into the ballpark. “Well, pay attention, fellas. It’s going to happen again.”

The Cubs lost, 9 to 3.

Staff writer Larry Green and researcher Wendy Leopold contributed to this story.