Dinkins’ Kinder, Gentler Style

New York’s Mayor Ed Koch started years ago to dig the political hole he could not climb out of on Tuesday. His attacks on Jesse Jackson during last year’s presidential primary stampeded black voters toward anybody but Koch. What started out as his fetching and, for New York, fitting brashness turned sour for a city losing ground against crack cocaine and corruption while racial tensions grew. Judging by the polls, the last shovelful was Koch’s criticism of marchers protesting the recent murder of a young black man, Yusuf Hawkins, by a gang of whites in Brooklyn. Virtually all black voters and one-third of the white voters turned to the quiet man in the Democratic race, David D. Dinkins, the black president of the borough of Manhattan.

Democrat Dinkins is no shoo-in against Republican Rudy Giuliani, the former U.S. attorney, in November, but at least New Yorkers may get to see whether calmer voices will work better in trying to guide major cities out of the shared wilderness of second-rate schools, a shortage of decent housing, the AIDS pandemic and crumbling neighborhoods.

On election night, Dinkins made his first move away from Koch’s slashing style and his willingness to pit neighbor against neighbor. When Koch’s name came up at the Dinkins victory rally, the crowd booed. Dinkins hushed the crowd. “I’m the guy who brings people together,” he said. The kinder and gentler approach may be catching. Koch showed up, visibly tired from the long campaign, urging Democrats to close ranks and promising to campaign for Dinkins.

New York’s problems, like those of most big cities, seem overwhelming, especially compared with the resources available to deal with them. A change from verbal confrontation to quieter calls for consensus and cooperation is not likely to provide a quick fix, but it is better suited to the long, tough task ahead for all cities.