Raymond Harding, 77, was Liberal Party chairman

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Raymond Harding, former state Liberal Party chairman and longtime Riverdalian, died of cancer on Aug. 9. He was 77.

Mr. Harding, who had lived in Riverdale since 1966, was one of the most influential political figures in New York City history.

A Riverdale Press profile from 1989 described Mr. Harding as a savvy, hard-working, chain-smoking political boss who held a great amount of sway in city and state politics.

“His wide owl-like face beams as he discusses maneuvers and strategies for the mayoral election, which offers a real opportunity for the Liberal endorsement to catapult a candidate into contention, and perhaps into office,” read the story, titled “Will Ray Harding make NY’s mayor?”

As chief of the Liberal Party of New York State, Mr. Harding helped both Republicans and Democrats win heated elections. A nod from the Liberal Party could provide a candidate with enough of a boost to win the general election because it would give candidates a second place on the ballot.

Mr. Harding helped get Rudy Giuliani elected mayor and Mario Cuomo elected governor, and helped Robert Johnson win a bid to become the Bronx’s District Attorney, a post Mr. Johnson still holds to this day.

Mr. Harding’s son Robert said Rep. Eliot Engel made a shiva call and recounted winning his first election running strictly on the Liberal Party line, making him the first state legislator to do so. 

“Our endorsement boosts any candidacy,” Mr. Harding told The Press in 1989, “It guarantees a presence in November.”

Asked about his father’s involvement in the Riverdale community, Robert said, “Politics was his community …” but also said his father was once a member of Riverdale Temple, where both Robert and his brother had their bar mitzvahs. 

Mr. Harding was born as Branko Hochwald on January 31, 1935. He and his parents, Mane and Helen Hochwald, lived in Yugoslavia. When the Nazis invaded in 1941, his family fled to Calabria, in Italy. In 1944, the Hochwald family was among 1,000 Jewish refugees granted a haven in America, and were among the only Jewish refugees accepted en masse during the war.

raymond harding, liberal party, politics, rudy giuliani, mario cuomo, riverdale temple, robert johnson
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