Hicks Slightly Ahead

Incumbent Congresswomen Louise Day Hicks told 600 campaign supporters last night "we will have to wait until tomorrow to celebrate" her re-election in the 9th Congressional District.

At Hicks headquarters in Dedham's Moseley's-on-the-Charles, a small crowd early in the evening swelled to over 600 by the time the congresswoman arrived at 11:20 p.m. Hicks told her excited campaign troops that "We've very happy with the results in Boston, but the paper balloting in the suburban makes it difficult to call the winner."

Hicks immediately left the restaurant for her home, where she remained until this morning.

The contest remained in doubt for most of the night. The 9th District-victim of a 1971 redistricting-has been gerrymandered to include an unusual coalition of white middle-class suburbs and Boston blue-collar wards.

As expected, Hicks did partly in Boston's black wards (8, 9, 12 and 14) but outpolled Moakley is Ward 7-both candidates' home district--by 800 of 8000 votes.

John Day, the congresswoman's brother and campaign manager, said he had expected Hicks to lose the black vote by a five-to-one margin.

In the 9th District's 134 Boston precincts. Hicks captured a narrow lead, but late returns from the 37 precincts in suburban towns were expected to offset that margin.