Friends Advise Against 4th Term : Koch’s Fortunes Plunge as N.Y.’s Troubles Mount

The plunge in Mayor Edward I. Koch’s political fortunes is the talk of the town--or at least of its political circles.

The latest symptom: At breakfast time Monday, Koch telephoned the Rev. Jesse Jackson to try to reconcile with the former presidential contender. During New York’s primary campaign, the mayor, a strong supporter of Israel, said Jews would be “crazy” to vote for Jackson, who frequently speaks on behalf of Palestinian rights.

But by lunch, in fresh testimony to the mayor’s new political vulnerability, Koch’s fellow Democrat, Charles B. Rangel, the Harlem congressman and Jackson ally, sniped:

“I don’t think the mayor speaks for the white community and the Jewish community, and I think that’s good for them. . . . I don’t think anyone the mayor supported recently has left better than before.”

Other recent Koch woes include the resignation of the head of New York Emergency Medical Service after half the city’s ambulances failed during hot weather. That came the day Koch issued a formal apology to New Yorkers of Irish descent for stating he did not believe that British troops in Northern Ireland were “occupying forces.”

That statement sparked a firestorm of criticism by Irish-Americans, including threats to bar the mayor from next year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Adding to the mayoral misery, the British press then pounced on Koch for his apology.

Conservative lawmakers in England castigated him: “Any man who makes a strong statement and because of political pressure changes his mind is not worth the office he holds,” charged Terry Dicks, a Tory member of Parliament, who also accused Koch of being a “weak-kneed politician.”

Other elements of the municipal soap opera:

Millions of bathers are furious because medical waste, including hypodermic syringes and vials, has washed up on New York’s shores, forcing health inspectors to close beaches.

“We should take one of those vials and make them eat it,” Koch said of illegal garbage dumpers. But he quickly added: “I say this facetiously.”

Police, Guardian Angels

New York’s police and the Guardian Angels are squabbling after restaurant owners in the Times Square theater district summoned the teen-age anti-crime patrol to rid the area of drug pushers.

Police and fire rescue squads have almost come to blows at some city disasters. And when Koch called a news conference to announce a truce, he had to act as referee, keeping his police and fire commissioners apart when they threatened a fist fight.

Such bizarre scenes have caused great concern to some of the mayor’s closest friends, who privately wish that the politician who last won with 76% of the vote will not try for a record fourth term in office next year. But Koch seems determined.

Small Stroke

Koch, 63, always has been a highly opinionated official, taking pride in his public stances on a variety of issues--some not pertaining directly to New York. But some of his allies believe three terms in a very taxing office have taken a toll on the mayor, especially after a small stroke. His physicians, however, assured Koch he should be able to function with no curtailment of his normally gargantuan schedule.

In private, many of the friends ponder whether history--surpassing the three terms of his hero, Fiorello H. La Guardia, who served at City Hall from 1934 to 1945--or Koch’s sense of an unfinished municipal agenda are the prime factors in the mayor’s decision to run again.

In recent months, New York has suffered a series of municipal mishaps. The Williamsburg Bridge--built in 1903--had to be closed for weeks because of emergency repairs, hurting local businesses and seriously inconveniencing commuters.

Ambulances Break Down

In an incident that provided potential ammunition to two potential mayoral rivals, City Council President Andrew J. Stein and Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin, who had both warned of deficiencies in the Emergency Medical Service, half of the city’s 246 ambulances broke down during hot weather. The vehicles now are being repaired in Police and Sanitation Department garages.

One reason the ambulances failed was that in order to maintain the vehicles’ heat and air conditioning, the engines were kept running when the ambulances were not responding to emergencies. There are plans to plug the ambulances into power supplies at police stations and fire houses.

On Monday, with Gov. Mario M. Cuomo acting as behind-the-scenes mediator, the mayor finally telephoned Jackson at the former presidential candidate’s home in Chicago. Koch said he got Jackson’s phone number from Manhattan Burough President David N. Dinkins, a key Jackson supporter during the primary campaign and a potential mayoral rival to Koch in 1989.

“The phone (was) answered. I said, ‘Can I speak with Jesse Jackson?’ It was Jackson,” Koch related. “He knew who I was.”

Discuss Meeting

The mayor said he told Jackson he would like to meet with him as soon as possible and they discussed their mutual interest in seeing Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis in the White House. Jackson replied that a meeting should be arranged through Dinkins and Rangel, and the conference should include other black leaders.

“My feelings toward the mayor are always open and respectful,” Jackson said later. “His toward me (during the campaign) were very hostile.”

Is a respite for the mayor likely?

Looming just over the horizon is the federal court trial of Koch’s good friend, first campaign manager and former Cultural Affairs Commissioner Bess Myerson.

Myerson, a former Miss America, is charged with giving a city job to a judge’s daughter in return for the judge lowering Myerson’s boyfriend’s alimony and child support payments.

The mayor is expected to testify as a witness in that trial--a prospect his close advisers view as a big political pothole.