Massachusetts Politician Says Dukakis Will Be Re-elected

Speaking at Kirkland House last night on the state of Massachusetts politics in the current election year, Paul H. Guzzi '64, Massachusetts Secretary of State, predicted that Gov. Michael S. Dukakis will easily win re-election and will eventually enter national politics as a cabinet member in a future administration.

The Governor's performance during the great blizzard last winter has made him politically invulnerable, Guzzi said, but Dukakis remains an enigma and a bit of a disappointment, he added.

"When Dukakis was elected in 1974 he created a fantasy that if he became governor the state budget deficit would disappear, and the frightening thing is that he believed it," Guzzi said.

The state legislature is currently paralyzed over political scandals, Guzzi said. Commenting on the post-Watergate popularity of investigative reporting, he added, "If you're in politics you're going to be rapped for something sooner or later."

Guzzi said he supports major reforms in the conduct and financing of state elections. Committee members in the state legislature should be elected, not appointed, he added.

Guzzi said he fears that the current process of redistricting electoral areas in the state will create a minor revolution in politics as liberal and independent representatives are cut out of politics under the pressure of more powerful Democratic leaders in search of larger electoral bases.

Economics will dominate the upcoming election, Guzzi said, because economic conditions have reached the point where consumers find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.

Guzzi said he plans to run for United States Senate sometime in the future, but added, "No one runs against Kennedy."