California: The Democrats' Minuet

In that minuet of malice called California politics, another Democrat has insinuated himself onto the stage to challenge Governor Pat Brown's third-term chances. He is Los Angeles Mayor Samuel William Yorty, a ripsnorting maverick. Yorty sees himself as the answer to the question Brown coyly poses when asked if he will run again in 1966: "If I don't, who will?"

Before Yorty started making sounds, about the only potential Democratic challenger to Brown seemed to be his longtime foe, State Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh. But Party Power Unruh loudly disclaims any immediate ambitions, and last week, when asked if he might back Party Irregular Yorty against Brown, he said more or less simply: "Not even I could be that much of a son of a bitch."

Yorty, 55, a former Congressman who has gone from liberal to conservative and now describes himself as a moderate conservative, calls himself Brown's only real opposition in the party. Riding high from his big mayoralty victory last spring over Representative James Roosevelt, Yorty is convinced that Brown will run again, says modestly: "I don't know of any Democrat who would possibly challenge him in the primaries next June except myself."

For nimble-footed Sam Yorty, the minuet has just begun. But Veteran Pat Brown, 60, who is about as agile as a fat man curtsying, knows all the political steps, would certainly figure as an odds-on Democratic primary choice against Yorty.