The Kennedy Connection

In 1964, Bobby Kennedy was elected United States Senator from New York, defeating Ken Keating. Back in the days when Bobby was U.S. Attorney General in his brother’s cabinet, he was a committed anti-mob prosecutor. There was a long standing belief that Utica was a mob haven and that Rufus Elefante was mob connected. Although that was never proven in any legal way, Kennedy himself believed it and had disdain for the Utica Democratic Party controlled by Rufie. As the Assaro shift was becoming a reality, Nassar, the brilliant strategist, sensed a potential alliance and had written a couple of letters to the Senator and his key staffers. They were met with interest. The whole Kennedy mystique of bright, young, dedicated people remaking the nation and the world fit the Assaro vision of bright, young people remaking Utica. Finally, there was a deep civil rights strain in both Nassar and Lucy and they viewed RFK through that prism as well. The Kennedy connection would also fit Nassar’s central political goal of establishing major league national relationships for Utica. You couldn’t get more major league than the Kennedys. Meetings were quickly arranged through Kennedy reps in Syracuse and New York City and the seeds of a political alliance were sown. By 1966, the framework for a Kennedy/Assaro allegiance was established which would become a key part of the Assaro political movement and its future. Not only could we get the benefit of the Kennedy name; we could also get some huge help in running campaigns. The Kennedys had a sophisticated machine which could be a huge help to the Assaro group. The first step was the political party switch.

The 1967 Campaign

Soon after his formal registration change, Dick announced his candidacy for mayor. The Elefante wing of the party nominated Sebastian “Sal” Convertino. Thus the stage was set for a showdown in the party primary to be held in September. After a political blood bath that literally split Italian families between the young and the old, Assaro squeaked out a victory. The difference was a sparse 102 votes. That demonstrated that there was still a lot of life in the Elefante machine. And, Convertino was a young, attractive Italian-American candidate in his own right. In backing Convertino, Rufie finally realized he could no longer avoid the historical evolution to an Italian-American mayor. The city’s largest population group had reached its time to demand an elected leader and not to be content with an unelected boss. Since Convertino was on the November ballot on the Liberal line, the general election figured to be equally close. It turned out to be what may have been the most dramatic, interesting election in the history of Utica! It had all the elements of a great drama: mob issues, Kennedy glamour, young vs. old, reform vs. establishment. And, it was bitter.

The Assaro campaign stole a page out of the Kennedy play book and ran on a “we can do better” platform. It was a platform based on a vision for the future, tying right back into Assaro’s 1965 theme. Dulan ran his usual clumsy campaign, again relying on his “mobster” innuendos. That theme looked really stupid when Bobby Kennedy not only endorsed Dick, but came to Utica in October to campaign for him. The Kennedy rally was amazing in its fervor. Kennedy brought the house down when he pledged not to cut his long hair until Dick Assaro was elected Mayor of Utica! RFK was electrifying, to say the least.