Why did the Republican Cross the Road?

The fabled old Greek, Diogenes, had he toted his lantern around Middlesex County, would have had an easier time finding an honest man than a Republican candidate for county office. The GOP is conspicuous by its absence in county races this November, and it leads one to wonder whether the "two party system" is a political phrase, or really the way in which a Belmont socialite spends his Saturday nights.

Two of the four county elections are uncontested, another should be decided by 8:30 p.m., and the closest fight, that being the battle for County Treasurer, might not interest the voter enough to make his way to the end of the ballot.

What it comes down to is that political fireworks at the county level last went off on September 19 at the Democratic Primary. For the county aspirants, November's hopes were nothing compared to the anxieties of winning the primary. Many good men fell by the wayside in the plethora of close intraparty races, and now all the pomp and excitement seems to zero in on Brooke vs. Tsongas, King vs. Hatch, Bellotti vs. Weld, where it once pondered Droney vs. Harshbarger, Twomey vs. Antonelli, and Shannon vs. the World.

These are enigmatic times for politics in Middlesex County, when the big decisions are made in September, and November serves only as the coronation.

The world of bus signs and billboards and bean suppers in Everett and ads in the Sudbury Town Crier-Fence Viewer turns on its bumper-stickered axis for the final time. Welcome to the now-predictable world of county races and the non-predictable ways it came to be:

District Attorney

Without question the most-publicized, most expensive and closest of all the county races, the quest for the Democratic nomination for Middlesex County D.A. featured an entrenched 19-year incumbent and an experienced public sector attorney as its main combatants.

John Droney had held the office virtually unopposed since his appointment by then-U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy '40 in 1959. For the last three years of his reign he had suffered from a debilitating illness that hindered his ability to speak or walk without some form of assistance. Through the workings of his publicity-oriented office and the efforts of his highly-capable, highly-ambitious first assistant, John F. Kerry, Droney created the facade of an active crime-buster seeking another term.

Scott Harshbarger '64 had resigned from the Attorney General's office as Chief of Public Protection Bureau in mid-February and proceeded to county-hop his way into the hearts of those who either wanted change, knew of Droney's illness, or hated the annoying Kerry. He detailed comprehensive programs for the office, treated Droney's incapacity tastefully, and was the only county candidate to have extensive television advertising. As a result, Harshbarger was endorsed by virtually every major newspaper in Middlesex County, as well as the Boston Globe.

It wasn't until mid-day on September 20, hours after Ed King had left "For Boston" ringing in our ears, that the results finally came in. Droney had defeated Harshbarger by approximately 6000 votes and incumbency remained the not-so-easily assailable hurdle.

Droney's illness has not abated, and in fact, reports are that his condition has worsened to the point where he is now hospitalized. Should the condition prove fatal, Droney would still win his election unopposed and a successor would be appointed by the governor.

Chances are that Kerry, anxious to run the show officially at the courthouse on Thorndike St., will not be named successor because of his relative inexperience (the former head of Vietnam Veterans Against the War is only two years out of law school). If the opportunity does arise, you can be sure that Scott Harshbarger will be considered. Ah, sweet irony of democracy.

County Commissioner

The other of the two county races without opposition, John Danehy prepares to stick with his present position while the two other county commissioners, Michael McLaughlin and S. Lester Ralph test other political waters in non-election years for them.

Danehy breezed through the commissioner's race in the primary the way most incumbents do--by being first on the ballot. He won handily in a field of four, and thus dispatched any serious opposition for Tuesday. There is a rumor that Joan Needleman of Newton might be trying to run a sticker campaign on the Republican side, which should be good for many laughs but not too many votes.

Danehy is a strange figure. He has spent the last decade being either extremely lucky or extremely careful when the political corruption spotlight has found Middlesex County in its path. He was not up for election during the Middlesex County "reform slate" of 1972, and stayed remarkably in the background of the late-summer hoopla surrounding fellow commissioner Mike McLaughlin and his alleged job-selling tactics. The job-selling probe, conducted in primary-timed fashion by District Attorney Droney's office, eventually cost McLaughlin a chance of winning the party nomination for Congress in the Sixth District.

At any rate, a vote for Danehy means you condone all this; a blank means, like most of us, that you're pretty puzzled.

Register of Probate

Paul Cavanaugh, appointed Register of Probate a year ago, had probably the finest organization of any county candidate outside of Harshbarger. This, and the fact that he was the only attorney in the three-man primary field, was the basis for his successful campaign. Cavanaugh triumphed in September by approximately 50,000 votes over Somerville meat-cutter Francis X. Donahue and former high school baseball star Leonard F. "Deacon" Doyle.

Robert Campo, currently chairman of the Board of Assessors in Somerville, is running as an independent, but should not be taken too seriously. Cavanaugh has the almighty first position on the ballot, as well as the enthusiastic blessings of those who are aware of his work as clerk of the probate courts over the past year.

County Treasurer

At last, my friends, we have a battle. However, if party ties in the county prove too strong, it will be no battle at all.

Rocco Antonelli is the Democratic candidate. Antonelli scored a big victory in the primary by defeating pre-primary favorite John Twomey and five other aspirants by a scant 4000 votes. The victory was the result of Antonelli's being--you guessed it--first on the ballot due to the departure of aging James Brennan as county treasurer, and also the fact that Antonelli was the only Certified Public Accountant in the entire field of budget watchers.

Independent candidate S. Lester Ralph, a former candidate for Attorney General and current county commissioner, has been campaigning heavily since the primary, trying to shore up what he already feels is a strong constituency in the county. Ralph's name recognition should be enough for him to win, but then again, Massachusetts people have never taken kindly to the Independent label. It will be another test of the power of the Democratic party in Middlesex County, where Republicans and Independents are outnumbered three-to-one.

I'm voting for Antonelli, mainly because his newpaper ads have been nothing short of hilarious (a white on black hour glass with "Time for Antonelli" written in it). Seriously, either candidate would make a fine treasurer.

So that's the country's second largest county in a nutshell, and if you managed to get to the end of this piece, you should have no trouble getting to the small type at the end of the ballot, where the county races have hung out for years.