Dukakis-Jackson Accord May Avert Floor Fight

Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson agreed Saturday to overhaul the Democratic Party rules, thus avoiding the risk of a floor fight developing at the national convention next month.

Under the agreement, the number of “super delegates” to the party’s 1992 convention would be cut nearly in half and all other delegates would be awarded to the presidential candidates in proportion to their degree of public support.

Jackson, who was meeting Saturday with campaign officials in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said the agreement represents “a victory for the people . . . a victory for democracy.”

Jackson had complained that party rules did not allow him to get the number of delegates he said were warranted by his showing of popular support. He had said he would carry the fight to get the rules changed to the convention floor.

Many Have a Choice

Of the 643 super delegates--party leaders and officeholders whose positions entitle them to vote at the convention--Jackson, who won 29% of the vote in the primaries, had just 55. Dukakis, who won 57% of the vote, had 362 of them, according to the Associated Press delegate count. These delegates are not bound to support any presidential candidate in accordance with results of primaries or caucuses.

And, while the Democratic Party has no “winner-take-all” states, a few states do have direct elections of delegates or “winner-take-more” systems.

Dukakis has used both aspects of the party rules to woo enough delegates to clinch the presidential nomination. He also has intensively sought the support of super delegates, often telephoning them personally.

Current Delegate Count

Currently, Dukakis has 2,384 of all the delegates and Jackson has 1,132. A candidate needs 2,081 for the nomination.

The Dukakis campaign supported the changes in the party rules, but Tad Devine, director of delegate selection for Dukakis, said it was not being done to buy peace with Jackson.

Devine said: “I think it represents a compromise on the part of both campaigns. It reflects a spirit of cooperation and good will.”

The party’s 186-member rules committee, which was meeting this weekend, approved the changes on Saturday without dissent. The proposals still must be ratified by the full convention next month, to be effective for the 1992 presidential campaign.

“Though adoption of this proposal doesn’t put us in the promised land, it puts us further down the road,” said Warren Bracy, a committee member and Jackson supporter from Ann Arbor, Mich., of reducing the strength of super delegates.

Rep. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) kept the metaphor: “This may not be the promised land, but it does represent some milk and honey.”

Devine said Dukakis did use the current system to his advantage but still would have won the nomination even if the proposed rules changes were in place.

“I don’t deny that we took a look at the delegate selection process in 1988 and developed strategies based on the way the process is structured,” Devine said.

In other business Saturday, the committee voted to recognize the District of Columbia as a state, giving Mayor Marion Barry an automatic seat at the 1988 convention as a governor.