Koch Joins Rally as N.Y. Democrats Show Backing for Mayoral Nominee Dinkins

It was David N. Dinkins’ big day Wednesday as he stood smiling on the steps of City Hall, hands linked overhead at a unity rally with Mayor Edward I. Koch and the two other Democratic contenders he had defeated only hours earlier in New York’s mayoral primary.

“Today, we are united against common foes. Those common foes are crime and drugs, poverty and pollution, illiteracy and infant mortality,” said Dinkins, who hopes to become the city’s first black mayor.

” . . . New York will not become a Republican beachhead in 1989,” he told 2,000 cheering supporters. “Ask yourselves: Did we scrape and struggle to survive nine years of reactionary Republican government in Washington just to hand over our city to the very same forces?”

Dinkins, who defeated Koch by a surprising margin of 51% to 42%, will be challenged in the November general election by former U.S. Atty. Rudolph W. Giuliani, who as expected won the GOP primary Tuesday.

Giuliani lost no time in attacking Dinkins on Wednesday, charging that the Manhattan Borough president is “part of the clubhouse politics, in some ways more than Koch, that has caused many of the problems facing the city. They’re the people who are responsible for the deterioration of the city.”

But the spotlight belonged to Dinkins, who won a tough primary with a theme of unity, capturing one third of white votes in the process.

Among many Democrats on Wednesday there was a sense of relief that despite the killing of a black teen-ager after being confronted by a white gang in Brooklyn, the race issue had remained fairly subdued in the campaign. There was no evident bitterness at City Hall as Democrats rallied behind Dinkins.

Koch, whose 12-year-career at City Hall will end in December, introduced Dinkins at the rally, saying “David Dinkins ran a superb campaign. His supporters worked hard and earned respect in a very tough business. It is time to join forces in a unified campaign to ensure victory for David Dinkins in the fall.”

Predicts ‘Backlash’

Many Democratic strategists believed it would be a serious mistake for either Dinkins or Giuliani to appeal openly to racial sentiment in the general election. William Cunningham, campaign manager for businessman Richard Ravitch, whom Dinkins defeated along with city Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin, cautioned if Giuliani and his adviser Roger Ailes, who ran President Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign, tried to play the racial card, “the backlash against him in this city would be catastrophic.”

Democratic strategists said that pride over Dinkins nomination could be a big plus for him in the general election, showing that New Yorkers can rise above racial politics.

But despite the day’s euphoria, and a 5-1 Democratic edge in registration in the city, some Democratic strategists cautioned that Dinkins faces some problems.

These include Dinkins failure to pay income taxes for three years two decades ago, perceptions of indecisiveness, the presence at his side of the Rev. Jesse Jackson--who is unpopular among Jewish voters--plus the fact that in general elections black voters account for only one quarter of the voters.

Koch, seeking to downplay his reputation for strident rhetoric, had deliberately veered away from attacking Dinkins on the tax issue in the primary campaign. But that might not be the case with Giuliani, the former prosecutor. And the possibility existed that some Democrats who oppose Dinkins for racial reasons could use the question of his income taxes as public reason for voting against him.

During Democratic debates, Dinkins accepted full responsibility for his failure to pay taxes on time and said he had paid all penalties. He pledged it would never happen again.

Some of Giuliani’s advisers believe Dinkins, 62, may be a much tougher candidate than Koch, whose record and personal style made him more vulnerable to criticism. They observed that Giuliani, 45, must seek the widest appeal possible and capitalize on youth, vigor and his image as a tough crime fighter.

But Giuliani’s cause is complicated by the fact that the man he defeated Tuesday--former ambassador to Austria Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune--will remain on the ballot as the Conservative Party’s candidate. Nelson Warfield, a spokesman, said Lauder, who spent more than $12 million of his own fortune in the Republican primary, was considering his options for the fall.

“We are honoring our commitment to the Conservative line,” Warfield said.

When Dinkins pledged that New York would not become a Republican beachhead, he also expressed the hope of Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, who once again shows signs of interest in a possible presidential campaign.

Democratic strategists agreed Wednesday that the last thing Cuomo wanted was Giuliani, supported by the White House, sniping at him from City Hall and cutting into his Italian-Catholic base of support.