The last time around they picked an East Coast Republican with a law degree.

But when Institute of Politics Director Richard L. Thornburgh left the job to head for Washington and the Justice Department after little more than a year at Harvard, the IOP search committee shifted gears.

Their pick: Seattle Mayor Charles T. Royer, a Democrat from the Pacific seaboard with a background in journalism.

Royer, who won't arrive full-time at Harvard until January (after he finishes his mayoral term), says he can provide a measure of stability to the Kennedy School's "bridge to the outside world" that his predecessor couldn't.

"I made a commitment of three to five years to the IOP," Royer explained in a recent interview. "Unless I get a Cabinet-level appointment like Thornburgh."

But, Royer insists, "Since it will probably be 16 years before there's a Democrat in the White House, I told them not to worry."

Instead, the Seattle mayor says he will look to forge greater links between the institute--which brings prominent speakers and fellows to Harvard from the world of politics--and the Kennedy School's nine other research centers.

In particular, the former head of the National League of Cities says he has a personal interest in reinforcing ties between the IOP and the new Taubman Center for state and local government.

But while Royer promises a measure of stability for the IOP, he says he won't shy away from pushing his own programs. "My friends who work in academia have been educating me about the politics of the academy," he says. "It doesn't seem any tougher than the politics of local government. I think I can handle it."

And until he arrives in Cambridge this January, Royer will continue to play local politics. His next task: the Seattle annual budget, which is to be presented next week to the city council.