Party chairmen endorse mayors' fair election code

Jet, August 19, 1996

A pledge to remove race as an issue in the upcoming presidential campaign proposed by the National Conference of Black Mayors was signed by chairmen of both the Republican and Democratic National Committees in Washington, D.C.

A bipartisan delegation of the Black mayors led by Kansas City, MO, Mayor Emanuel Cleaver put the finishing touches on its election project to prevent "a Willie Horton" episode during this year's expected bitter campaign.

Horton, a Black convicted murderer who raped a White woman while on furlough in Massachusetts during then-Gov. Michael Dukakis' administration, became a key campaign issue. His picture was carried on ads blaming Dukakis for his release, damaging Dukakis' presidential campaign against then-Vice President George Bush in 1988.

"We are extremely pleased that both party chairmen readily signed our resolution," said Mayor Cleaver at a press conference in Washington, D.C. "We expect that some version of our language will be included in the platforms of both parties."

Mayor Cleaver led the delegation on visits to both Haley Barbour, the GOP Chair, and Don Fowler, the Democratic chief. Early this year, the conference adopted a resolution urging the two parties to join "to make the election a referendum on ideas and vision, and not another exercise in polarization of our society."

Mayor Cleaver said, "While we may not agree on who should occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we do agree that race-baiting and playing the `race card' have no place in American politics. With the current climate of hatred in America, a climate that has spawned a rash of church burnings, we cannot afford even the hint of racial division in the upcoming election."