Hatch Perceives Shift in Party Loyalty

"All the existing political structures and alliances in the state were radically changed by the primary," Republican gubernatorial candidate Francis W. Hatch Jr. '46 told a gathering of 40 Cambridge area voters last night.

"It's like a kaleidoscope, with all the prisms rotated just a few degrees." said Hatch, who spoke to a Republican gathering in the First Parish Unitarian Church off Harvard Square. Hatch faces Democrat Edward J. King in next month's election.

Hatch described himself as "fiscally responsible but more socially moderate than my opponent."

Other candidates who spoke at the meeting included Lewis S. Crampton, candidate for state treasurer, and William Barnstead, candidate for Congress in the Eighth District, which includes Cambridge, against Rep. Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. (D-Mass.).

The meeting, organized by the Cambridge Republican City Committee and the Women's Republican Club, drew a mix of local residents and curious Harvard students.

Richard S. Hoffman '80 said that he had come to "find out about Frank Hatch. I'm a traditional Democrat, but I'm disappointed with Ed King."

A Lowell House sophomore said he was afraid Hatch might be too liberal. "I'm a Republican, but I line up with King on a lot of issues."

Kathleen A. Duey '79, president of the Harvard Republican Club, said that she was interested in helping all the Republican candidates.

"I've called them all up to see if they need the services of our 250 or 300 members," said Duey.

Crampton, who squares off against incumbent Democrat Robert Q. Crane in the November final, said that he wants to modernize the office.

"They administer a $4.5 million budget out of a series of shoeboxes," Crampton said. He also blasted Crane for what he termed "inept handling" of the state's lottery.