Democrats drag feet on policy to avert party bloodbath

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By Brian T. Usher

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Joseph D. Rice

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COLUMBUS Ohio Democrats ayolded a major bloodbath yesterday by postponing 1 vate amendments to the party constitution and by killing part of the party platform that endorsed the United Farm Workers (UFW) union's boycott of grapes and lettuce.

At a sometimes stormy and frequently chaotic convention here, they also bickered over what some interpreted as a tough stance on drug laws and rejected an amendment to include bias against homosexuals in the party's list of biases if opposes.

And they launched a major attack on the integrity and record of ex-Gov. James A. Rhodes, the Re publican nominee for governor. Gov. John J. Gilligan, Rhodes' opponent. and State Rep. Richard F. Celeste, D5. the nominee for lieutenant governor, led the assault. Gilligan repeated it before some 4,000 people at the party's annual dinner here.

The delay on the party changes was a rebuff to state Democratic chairman William A. Lavelle, who supports them. Lavelle said he would recommend that the party executive committee call a special constitutional convention next year to consider the changes. The delay headed off a fight between Lavelle and Gilligan, who supported the changes, and Senate nominee John H. Glenn Jr., who viewed them as a power grab by the governor and Lavelle.

Dropping the endorsement of the UFW's grape and lettuce boycott represented a setback for Gilligan and the AFL-CIO but a victory for the Teamsters Union. which is competing with the UFW in organizing efforts.

The AFL-CIO backs the boycott. Gilligan recently ndorsed the boycott in a xoclamation naming Sept. -15 United Farm Forkers Week.

Delegates replaced the boycott clause with one that endorsed efforts to organize farm workers. without specifying any union.

Among rule-change proposals, Glenn chiefly objected to one for lowering from a simple majority to one-third the number of people required for a quorum of the 91-member executive committee.

Another change would have given Lavelle the right to name 25 new members to the executive committee.

Glenn and his associates feared that by reducing the number of people needed to take action, it would be easier for the governor and Lavelle to control the executive committee. This, technically, is the party's policy making body.

Lavelle moved to delay the vote. The convention would not have had time, he said later. to act on the changes before last night's dinner.

He did not know. he added, if he had the votes to pass the changes.

The executive committee must approve a new constitutional convention, since the convention yesterday

adjourned. This means new members must be elected for the constitutional convention.

After the convention yesterday, Franklin County Democratic chairman Nelson A. Lancione accused Lavelle of reneging on a promise to vote on a resolu tion setting a new convention for Nov. 16. Lancione objected to the election of new delegates and wanted the old convention to recess, not adjourn.

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I can't trust you one minute. Bill." Lancione said.

"You haven't talked to me in months," Lavelle shot back.

Lavelle backed Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum, D-O., over Glenn in the May primary. Lavelle's attacks on Glenn incensed the former astronaut, who is expected to try and stop Lavelle as chairman if he (Glenn) wins in November. Lancione is a Glenn backer.

Lavelle does not plan to step down, he said, before his term as chairman expires in May 1976.

Gilligan's endorsement of UFW leader Cesar Chavez's boycott this week prompted Rhodes to attack Gilligan and claim he was hurting Ohio farmers. Rhodes never explained how. State Agriculture Director Gene R. Abercrombie said the boycott had no detrimental effects on Ohio farmers.

The Teamsters Union backed Gilligan in the 1970 election. However, they were politically close to Rhodes during his eight years as governor, and Democratic leaders such as Cuyahoga County cochairman Hugh A. Corrigan feared a party endorsement of the boycott would hurt the state ticket.

Gilligan and his chief of staff, John E. Hansan. agreed to a compromise on the issue at a meeting in Cleveland Friday with Corrigan, fellow cochairman Anthony J. Garofoli and Gerald J. Austin, Gilligan's Cuyahoga County campaign manager.

Yesterday morning was spent working out the language of the compromise. Corrigan, Cleveland lawyer John Climaco, who represents the Teamsters. Ohio AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Warren E. Smith and State Sen. Marigene Valiquette, D-11, Toledo, played key roles in drafting a compromise acceptable to Gilligan and Teamster leader Jackie Presser.

State Rep. Ike Thompson, D-13. offered a compromise on the floor. It was approved with few objections.

This is a Teamster sellout." complained State Rep. John G. Sweeney, D-11.

The political repercussions to Gilligan were not the only considerations for the compromise. Some Cleveland area politicians, who were the prime movers behind the compromise, feared the boycott would endanger them politically' with the Teamsters.

They have a lot of money to go around." one Cleveland politician observed.

The fight on the drug platform came over a section that endorsed a seven-year mandatory minimum sentence for suppliers and pushers of all illicit drugs. Opponents said this could lead to stiff terms for someone who sold a friend marijuana and that the stiff sentence should apply only to sellers of hard drugs such as heroin.

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An amendment to leave the entire drug section from the platform appeared to have been shouted down in voice vote when State Rep. Vernal G. Riffe Jr., D89. New Boston. who was convention chairman. claimed the amendment passed. There were shouts of, “No. Nɔ.” Ballots were distributed. and the amendment failed 324 to 186.

The convention also upheld. 319 to 270. the list of 14 at-large members to the Democrats' miniconvention in Kansas City this December. Opponents claimed the slate, named by a party committee. did not include enough women or individuals from certain geographic

areas.

The vote on the clause affecting homosexual: came when a Columbus man

asked to offer an amendment. The man, who identified himself as Pat Miller. said he was a homosexual' and that he and other homosexuals should not be subjected to discrimination.

The delegates showed their restlessness early in the morning sessions as they virtually shouted down a voice vote ruling from convention chairman Riffe on what delegates termed a gag rule.

Kenneth S. Seminatore, a Cleveland lawyer, led a fight against the rule that required all who wanted to speak on the floor to sign in by 10:30a.m.

led to free-flowing debates later in the floor fights.

Keynoter Celeste called for unity among Democrats -whom he termed an untidy, energetic collection of usually outspoken individuals, interest groups, ethnic heritages and political outlooks.

While Gilligan in his dinner speech stuck to comparing his record with that of Rhodes. Celeste launched a stinging attack on Rhodes integrity, charging Rhodes had not disclosed his income tax return and has not accounted for all his campaign funds and contributors.

Gilligan and Lavelle were Riffe, who wielded a hosts at a cocktail hour at heavy gavel all day, ruled the governor's mansion afthat the nays had it on Semter the convention for meminatore's motion, although itbers of the Buckeye Execu seemed obvious the yeas had won.

Amid shouting, protesting delegates, Lavelle and the rules committee chairman agreed to kill the rule. This

tive Club. Its members are $1,000-a-year contributors to the party.

In his dinner speech text, Gilligan charged that Rhodes had failed to deliver

on promises he made on education and taxes.

Twelve years ago James

Rhodes made the promise. We kept it.

During the decade of the

1960s, Gilligan said, property taxes in the state of Ohio virtually doubled, and during the Rhodes years in

office the property owners paid an average $100 mil lion more each year than they had paid in the past.