European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 26, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Of i by i. A Jfe statehouse the path of ambition by Dave Goldberg associated Pressi f they had lived in medieval times they would be Dukes two of them descended from Noble houses the third gaining a fiefdom by vanquishing his  the 201st year of the United states of America they Are Young governors newly elevated and hoping perhaps to be elevated another step or two some Day Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia Delaware s Pete Dupont of Oil and chemical fortunes and Jim Thompson of Illinois prosecutor of democratic politicians. As the president of the United states prefers to be known As Jimmy so does six foot six James r. Thompson fashion an image As Jim or big  Pierre s. Dupont in is  John Davison Rocke Feller in is Jay. If the similarity is inadvertent the ambitions Are not. Thompson s High school yearbook noted his prediction that he would be president by 1984, and his election last fall immediately made him a presidential Prospect in a Republican party Short on Young Talent. A 30-year-old Jay Rockefeller was being portrayed a decade ago As a potential president. Pete Dupont newer to notoriety is already an important National figure among moderate republicans. But future Elevation depends on present performance and state government is not an easy Arena. Predictably the three Dukes just Over 40 or about to get there Are familiar already with realities quite opposite from the promises of Campaign rhetoric. There Are factors beyond their control like the ele ments there Are Universal Money problems and there is a governmental constant the More problems you try to solve the More you alienate interest groups directly in the  is the kind of Public scrutiny in which every word you utter is Analysed something Dupont and Thompson have already Learned. Then there Are local politicians who run the state year after year As governors come and go. They Are not particularly in Awe of a Bright Young governor with National ambitions. Jim Thompson made a reputation As . Attorney in Chicago where he successfully prosecuted a variety of politicians most of them on charges involving corruption. His most prominent convicted was the late Otto Kerner one time democratic governor and Federal appeals judge who was jailed for accepting Racetrack Stock illegally. Thompson succeeds As governor one of the Dukes of the class of 1972, Dan Walker. Walker managed to run afoul of the Chicago organization and was Defeated in a Pri Mary last year by Michael Hewlett the late mayor Rich Ard j. Daley s hand picked candidate. Then Thompson trounced Hewlett by 1.4 million votes enough to give president Ford Illinois on his  governing a state particularly a state with the convoluted politics of Illinois is not As single track a Job As prosecuting a criminal and a governor must take positions. Shortly before taking the oath As governor Thompson said he supported proposals pending in the legislature to increase salaries for legislators and other state officials including the governor. Shortly thereafter he announced he would Call for a year of sacrifice in state government trimming expenditures As far As they could be trimmed or farther. Gov. Jay Rockefeller has frankly admitted that he moved to West Virginia to establish a political Power base. Delaware gov. Pierre do font s Lack of protocol strained relations Between him and the state legislature. Page 14 the stars and stripes that did t sit particularly Well with the electorate and Thompson dropped his support of the pay raises after noting that he had been flooded with mail denouncing the raises by a 300-1 ratio. It was said one legislator an in temperate foolish  Thompson s style is like Many of the nation s younger politicians consciously informal. He pushes his austerity program with classroom style briefings using a Large notepad mounted on a tripod to civic groups Chambers of Commerce Republican clubs and other local groups. There is also in Thompson s style like those of other new governors a Shade of the conscious . Sam Gove director of the Institute of government and Public affairs at the University of Illinois says of the governor s Cabinet appointments the ones i know Aren t the headline Hunter types. They Are technicians and professionals and probably will get the Job done  is incumbent on Thompson to do nicely fairly quickly. He has to run again in november of next year under a change in the Illinois Constitution switching gubernatorial elections to non presidential years. If he wins big he s in Good position for the 1980 presidential race if he wins Small or loses he moves one step backward. Jay Rockefeller is hardly your Normal everyday West virginian. Born in new York educated at har Vard a far East scholar who studied in Japan and travelled extensively in Asia. He is in West Virginia he has said quite frankly to obtain a political base. A Democrat from a Republican family Rockefeller got his political Start in an administrative Job with the peace corps during the Kennedy administration. Much like his Uncle Winthrop who moved to Arkansas and subsequently became governor Rockefeller looked for a state out Side what he called the new York Washington Axis. A Friend recommended West Virginia and in 1964 a Job was arranged through the late Robert Kennedy then at Torney general with an Arm of the presidential commis Sion on juvenile delinquency. From there there were Quick stops in the legislature and As Secretary of state and by 1968, Rockefeller was being thought of As a presidential Prospect. That Prospect was t Hurt by his marriage to Sharon Percy daughter of the Republican senator from Illinois in the american equivalent of a Royal wedding. But those plans suffered a setback when Rockefeller lost his race for governor in 1972, a bad year for democrats. He settled in As president of West Virginia Wes Leyan University and ran again last year. This time he was elected by a margin of nearly 2-1. Vest Virginia is a poor state traditionally treated harshly by the elements. Rockefeller s first months in office were beset with problems of the kind de scribed in insurance policies As an act of  the bitterly cold Winter hit West Virginia especially hard. There were Gas and Oil shortages and River ice jams that prevented reserves from being floated up Rivers on barges forcing plants and schools to close. Then the weather got warmer and there were Flash floods the worst in Southern West Virginia in 20 years. So Rockefeller spent a Good Deal of his time coordinating Relief efforts and flying around the state to disaster Sites. He also had to Deal with a legislature that despite democratic majorities of 28-6 in the Senate and 91-9 in the House was Balking at enacting his first priority exemption of food from the 3 per cent state sales tax. The exemption which critics complain will eliminate revenues of $34 million passed the House on March 6, but was still bottled up in the Senate finance committee when the 60-Day legislative session ended april 9. The Bill was opposed by several key senators including Senate presi Dent William t. Brotherton jr., who was dealing in Power politics before Rockefeller became governor and who probably will be doing the same after he leaves. Pete Dupont is what Jay Rockefeller might have been had he stuck to his family s traditional Republican persuasion. Out of Harvard Law school by Way of Princeton Dupont worked Only briefly for the huge family chemical con Cern the most important single political and economic Factor in the Small state of Delaware. He served one term in the state House and three As Delaware s Only con Gressman before being elected governor last  s House record was solid moderate to Liberal Republican. He got High ratings from the Liberal Republican Ripon society moderately High ratings from the lib eral americans for democratic action and relatively Low Marks 36 per cent in 1974 from the conservative Ameri cans for constitutional action. In 1974, Dupont announced he would voluntarily limit contributions to his Campaign. That year and in his gubernatorial Campaign he accepted no contributions Over $100 from individuals and none from special interest groups. He put the same limit on members of his family and on his own funds. In his Campaign against incumbent gov. Sherman w. Tribbitt Dupont pledged to do away with patronage poli tics and criticized the hold of special interests Over state government. He warned that the state would straighten out its finances but provide fewer services. His Cabinet therefore is professional and he has signed an order setting up a screening committee to recommend judicial appointments and take judgeship out of  relations with the legislature controlled by democrats started off badly because Dupont ignored the kind of protocol that most legislators demand when he miffed leaders of both parties by failing to discuss Cabinet appointments with them before they were announced. Some aides blame the problem on Dupont s staff. Like the staffs of Many reformers its members Are Young idealistic and unused to a system under which you can keep a legislator Happy by slapping him on the Back before you do the opposite of what he s advised. In any Case Dupont plays to the Public More than to the legislature sometimes with unforeseen consequences. In Early March in a speech outlining spending cuts and new taxes he used the word bankrupt to described Delaware s financial condition. The next Day investors deluged the governor s office with Calls and several weeks later Delaware s Bond rating was lowered from a to Baa-1, lowest for any state in the  governor s office maintains there is no danger of the state defaulting but does not retract the bankrupt statement. Dupont says the state faces a deficit of about $56 million for the fiscal year that ends june 30 and will have to borrow to make it up. Dan Walker of Illinois was voted out of office last year. Brendan Byrne of new Jersey is in trouble this year. Ella Grasso of Connecticut is being denounced across the state. The Bright new governors of the past few years have governed their states and Are no longer Bright new governors. But Jimmy Carter Georgia class of 70, is in the White  raises some interesting possibilities for Rockefeller Dupont and Thompson. A monday september 26,1977 like Many Young politicians Illinois gov. Jim Thompson has adopted an informal image. The stars and stripes Page 15