Davidoff was administrative assistant to New York Mayor John V. Lindsay for seven years . Hendrik Hertzberg called him " the Mayor 's burly troubleshooter " . In 1968 , when students took over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University holding the active dean captive there , Lindsay sent Davidoff as one of the mediators to broker the dean 's release . He likely caught the attention of Nixon staffers following a street fracas between pro- and anti-war demonstrators , where Davidoff re-lowered the American flag to half-mast in honor of the 4 demonstrators killed at the Kent State shootings after opponents had raised it in defiance
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
Sidney Davidoff