You Sure You Want a Governor?

Campaign headquarters for Francis W. Hatch Jr. '46--the quiet gentleman from Beverly Farms who wants to be governor of Massachusetts--are not what you would expect. The walls are yellow and peeling--just a little hole in the wall on 14 Beacon Street. One switchboard, six telephones, no hold buttons, no cotton ribbed turtlenecks--just a bunch of kids, sitting around stuffing envelopes. There is one sign on the wall. "Make the King the Ruler of Massachusetts for the next four years, and you'll think Henry the VIII was a nice guy."

The last public debate between Hatch and his Democratic opponent Edward J. King is over. Dick Mastrangelo, Hatch's not-so-very-confident and slightly overweight campaign manager, raises his hand for silence. "Now, we're all very proud of Frank. He did a real good job tonight. You heard him. But you also heard those poll results. That's what I'm looking at. As far as I'm concerned this race starts today, and it's a dead heat now. Five days and 10 hours. We have to get out there and work. If he loses, it's our fault."

Five days and 10 hours. Hatch's people look around at each other. Yeah, Frank did look good tonight. They wonder if it will work. For the first time all fall their candidate got tough with Ed King, like he too realized the clock was running out. Mastrangelo, dressed in a gray flannel suit vest and pants, with little bulges of fat straining the buttons, says that Frank has been aggressive, and tonight's debate looked particularly good because for once they had all spent some time working on his speeches. As we're talking, Mastrangelo bites down on the wet cigar he holds in his mouth. He doesn't want to hear anything about the way the campaign went earlier this fall. He wants to start all over, and hopes it isn't too late. He pats a young Harvard type on the back, "I'm really expecting a lot of work out of you in these next few days, Dave. Really, any papers you need, I'll write them for you myself."

"O.K., tomorrow's topic is Dante and..."They laugh and Dave shakes his head. He'll work.

***

A woman who will identify herself only as "a Truman liberal" explains why she will vote for Ed King. "People in labor just can't indulge themselves in the luxury of an intellectual...That's what Frank Hatch is. He has never been a hero to the liberal, and all of a sudden, since he and King won the primaries, Hatch has become this purist." She adds one final note of warning to her statement. "If Hatch becomes governor, it will be like a finishing school experience for the next four years."

The air that she speaks into is thick with cigar smoke. We are standing outside the main ballroom to the Park Plaza Hotel where the AFL-CIO convention has been in session for several days. Tommy O'Neill is leaving the room, shaking hands with people. "Hi, I'm Tommy O'Neill, and I'm running for lieutenant governor, I'd like to ask for your vote." He is patted on the back. "Good luck, Tommy."

"Thanks, Joe." The voice is cool and quiet. If people vote for Tommy O'Neill, then they have to vote for Ed King. But while this bothers O'Neill, it isn't such a bitter pill to swallow for the hundreds of ironworkers, plasterers and plumbers who are milling around the Park Plaza Hotel Thursday afternoon. In fact, they rather like the idea, and don't hesitate to tell you why. It's a class war--the working man against the intellectual elite. Hatch's record as a state rep has been weak and they claim he has voted against labor at least 20 times. Ed King--he's a working class boy, and promises that he'll cut property taxes and bring jobs to Massachusetts. King talks a hard line and people believe him. He never shows up on Thursday at the Park Plaza, where he is supposed to give a speech, but a copy of his prophecies do.

"Sure the airport created noise. But there is something far worse than noise: it is the deathly stillness of the unemployment lines; the cruel punishment inflicted on a family by the burden of unemployment. Frank Hatch doesn't understand this; the Republican party never has; but this understanding is the core of the Democratic party."

King is supposed to be arriving at any minute, and everyone is waiting, although they also know he will have their votes no matter what. They are the representatives of about 90,000 members of organized labor unions throughout the state. They smoke cigars and wear King/O'Neill buttons. They ask you who are you going to vote for and tell a reporter she looks like her Daddy has a lot of money. They don't like Frank Hatch because he is rich and he looks like a wimp. Massachusetts will be like Miss Porter's if Hatch gets his hands on it, they think.

Rep. James Burke from the 9th District hobbles up to the podium and starts talking softly into the microphone. Nobody knows he's up there, or maybe they do, but the dull hum of conversation doesn't subside during Burke's impromptu endorsement speech for King. A real lock 'em up and shoot 'em speech--Burke tells the convention why King should be governor. "Imagine those people selling drugs to our kids in junior high school. We need a man who will deal with these people. Look at the murders--why just during the past week...What are we coming to? This is a society that must survive. Ed King is a man that will get out there and fight. He'll get out there and fight for his neighbors."

No King this afternoon to come and reiterate his views, but that's o.k. because Frank Bellotti, the state's attorney general who is also running for reelection, has just shown up and he can give a speech to stall for more time, until King comes.

"My father was gassed in World War I...I realize maybe more than anyone else how important this union is. I wouldn't have gotten educated without it...I care about you and I want you to care a great deal about what happens to us on November 7." Bellotti, who is wearing a light easter-egg blue suit smiles cheesily and steps off the stage. Everyone pats him on the back, and he is surrounded by friends who call him Frank, "ole buddy."

Still no King. Maybe he isn't coming. Well, if he doesn't come today, maybe he will come tomorrow when Senator Kennedy comes....

Ted Kennedy? Where did it all begin? If Mike Dukakis hadn't gotten stomped way back on September 19, well, none of this would be happening now. Remember, Ed King and his gang weren't quite sure they would be able to "Dump the Duke" or the "Dukakis Jewdiciary"--not quite sure because when it finally happened Ed himself looked pretty surprised. But they did it in a big way, leaving Frank Hatch to face a Democrat who drove people like his running mate, Tommy O'Neill, into complete silence. Frank Hatch was not prepared for the block of Democrats who were crossing over to endorse him. Quickly, a Democrats for Hatch Committee was formed by people like Barbara Ackermann, who also got beaten by King in the primary. Campaign aides say this coalition lacked organization until last week--just a few weeks too late.

It took him a while to figure it out. But just a couple of weeks ago Tom and his Dad (who happens to be Speaker of the U.S. House) got their acts together and went for King, in as big a way as they could. They got Jimmy Carter up there on the platform in Lynn, and if that wasn't a show for Democratic unity...Well, there were a few embarrassing moments when Kennedy refused to shake hands with the gubernatorial candidate, and when King got booed and hissed after he was introduced, but the President managed to patch things up by telling people that the Democratic party is broad enough to encompass all sorts of views. If the Democratic party is that broad, maybe it is time to create a third party.

Basically, King is about as conservative as they come. Right down the line he eagerly tells people he can create jobs (so what if it makes a little noise or messes up the environment), he can control crime by locking everyone up or executing the murderers, and he can lower taxes (although he isn't going to take "band-aids" away from anyone.). Frank Hatch, being the nice guy that he is, hasn't come out with a strong enough attack plan. He's too honest to tell people he will cut property taxes by $500 million; he points out that prisons are going to get awfully full if you just try and lock everyone up for life. In his typically father-like manner, Hatch tries to explain to King about such things as prison reforms and rehabilitation, but instead he comes off sounding like a softie who doesn't know how to handle problems.

Frank Hatch apparently decided early on in his campaign to go for a positive, "Why I'm qualified to be governor" campaign line, but let's not be too purist, Frank. It didn't work out that way. All three debates this fall boiled down to name-calling matches between Hatch and King, with the press spurring it on. Finally, Hatch admitted he would be damn scared to see King be governor of the state for four years, while King came back saying that Hatch is just a rich incompetent, totally unqualified to run a state government.

For better or for worse, both of them might be right. There seems to be a good chance that voters on Tuesday will cast their ballots with whoever managed to sling the juiciest mud. Or, whoever has been the most successful at convincing people that his opponent is totally incompetent or dangerous. Rep. Michael J. Harrington '58 (D-Mass.) admits that King has the "instincts of a soup-kitchen general for the Salvation Army," but on the other hand he thinks Massachusetts could use such a man to spur economic development in the northeast. Harrington's point is that King is a hustler, and that the state needs someone like him, even if he is going to run everyone over to get what he wants.

Hatch is more likely to run the state like a quiet grandaddy trying to bring his chillun up right. He doesn't have the kind of style that spells action, and if he loses this election all people will be able to say is that maybe he is "too nice a guy" to be governor. People like to compare Hatch to Francis W. Sargent, who had a crack at running the state just before Dukakis. The liberals dumped Sargent for Dukakis, who they thought would be a real can-do-kind of guy. Beware of the man who says he really can get things done, because he will try, at everyone's expense.CrimsonLisa Hsia