Candidates Clash on Education

BOSTON--Lt. Gov. Evelyn Murphy yesterday rapped the tone of an education advertisement by her rival for the state governorship, Francis X. Bellotti, who turned around and said Murphy is unwilling to cross the teacher's union.

A Saugus teacher who met with Murphy yesterday went beyond Murphy's comments--saying Bellotti's ad on the teachers union has made education a "red herring" in the campaign.

The Bellotti campaign commercial describes how Bellotti "stood up" to the teachers union by endorsing competency tests and longer school days. The advertisement says Bellotti believes "teachers deserve more money but must also accept more accountability."

Bellotti, Murphy, Boston University President John Silber and Rep. John Flood (D-Canton) are all seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.

At a press conference to highlight the fact that 6000 teachers statewide have received pink slips because of fiscal problems, Murphy was questioned about the Bellotti commercial.

"I don't think it's helpful and useful in tone," Murphy said.

"What I believe is you don't blame teachers, victims of a lot of the fiscal turbulence that's here, and try to turn this into a nasty bit of pointing fingers," Murphy said.

Mary Garrity, a high school teacher from Saugus, said she was angry about the commercial.

"I feel that he's taking issues that are not issues that should be part of a gubernatorial race and he's creating a red herring," Garrity said. "We are becoming the issue, whereas the issue should be what's the deficit, I mean how is he going to solve the deficit?"

Rep. Mark Roosevelt (D-Boston) of the Bellotti campaign said the advertisements were not an attempt to blame teachers for problems in public education.

"We do not at all feel we are attacking teachers," Roosevelt said.

Roosevelt, in turn, said Murphy is afraid of taking on the teachers union.

"Some candidates never anger anybody, especially any organized group," Roosevelt said. "1990 is not the year for status quo politics."

Murphy said she does part company with the Massachusetts Teachers Association on how to fund education. But she quickly turned questions about where she disagrees with the MTA back to teacher layoffs.

Flood meanwhile called Murphy's reaction to teacher layoffs "empty rhetoric," because he said she has not spoken out on cuts in local aid to cities and towns.

"Today's pink slips were made inevitable by the governor's decision in 1988 to veto $92 million in local aid, and the two subsequent raids on local aid," Flood said. "Where was Evelyn during that time?"