City Steps Up Pledge Debate

After rebuking former Education Secretary William J. Bennett last week for his attack on the patriotism of Cambridge residents, Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci has stepped up his efforts to defend his city's reputation.

In a letter sent to Gov. Michael S. Dukakis on Wednesday, Vellucci invited the Democratic presidential candidate to attend a City Council meeting "on a Monday evening at your earliest convenience," and lead the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.

This year's presidential campaign has placed the city of Cambridge in the middle of an ongoing dispute over the patriotism of the Massachusetts governor, focusing on his decision to veto a bill requiring students to recite the Pledge.

Earlier this month, Bennett criticized Dukakis, a Brookline native, for his decision on the Pledge, adding that most Brookline and Cambridge residents were contemptuous of the Pledge and "the simple and basic patriotism that most Americans believe."

In his letter to Dukakis, Vellucci wrote, "Since Mr. Bennett targeted Cambridge as being 'Un-American' we are ready to do battle and let the whole world know that Cambridge is composed of 58 different languages and that we consider ourselves full fledged Americans."

While Dukakis has never attended a City Council meeting as governor before, according to City Clerk Joseph E. Connarton, city officials are hopeful that he will consider attending before the November election.

"There's good reason for it," said Vice-Mayor Alice K. Wolf. "Bennett stereotyped our whole city as well as Brookline. This is a visual response to that stereotyping."

Reciting the Pledge has been a fixture of City Council meetings for several years, Wolf said.

"It's a way of saying 'I am part of this country,'" said Wolf, who is an immigrant.

Spokesmen for the Dukakis-Bentsen campaign said that they have not yet received the invitation and could not comment on it.