Harshbarger Prepares for Gubernatorial Run

SAUGUS, Mass.--With its fastfood chains, car dealerships and walk-in pet clinics, this pit stop on the road to Maine is a world away from the sunny 20th floor office out of which State Attorney General L. Scott Harshbarger '64 ponders the Charles River basin, the MIT dome and the spires of Harvard's river houses.

But with the Democratic gubernatorial primary less than a year away, Harshbarger is beginning to spend more of his evenings at places like the Continental Restaurant--a low-lying, dimly lit establishment on the highway that runs through town.

Born in the hills of central Pennsylvania, Harshbarger, 54, is a former record-setting Harvard football player, a former Middlesex County district attorney and now is in his second term as the state's attorney general.

With the primary looming in September 1998, rumors of who will be running are buzzing around the state like flies around a cow. Harshbarger is already out on the campaign trail. On a Thursday evening earlier this month, Harshbarger was at the Continental making his case for the state's highest office.

"It's going to be a marathon, not a sprint," Harshbarger says.

As members of the Middlesex County Bar Association devoured a meal of kidneys and scallops wrapped in bacon, baked potatoes and mammoth swordfish steaks, Harshbarger spoke to the group about his plans for reforming the state's juvenile justice system.

With a confident voice, Harshbarger charmed the smoke-filled room as he talked of improving the system while keeping bureaucratic growth and mismanagement to a minimum.

Few doubt that Harshbarger's polished lines and what many call his perfect TV looks will help him woo Bay State voters.

But Harshbarger may be forced to raise his level of play a few notches if he wants to make it through the Democratic primary.

U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.), a controversial figure whose name comes with the weight of a Massachusetts legend, is likely to be Harshbarger's opponent in the primary.

Harshbarger's colleagues say that although polls consistently favor Kennedy by double digits, the race will be close. But in order to keep it close, Harshbarger must get out and start doing what he does best--plugging away at places like the Continental.

"The effectiveness of his campaigning is that he's a real fighter when he's on the campaign trail," said Stephen McGrail, a Middlesex Country lawyer who ran against Harshbarger for the district attorney's office in 1986 and plans to support Kennedy in 1988.

"His loyal, loyal supporters will go right to the wall for him," McGrail said.

Faced with the money, power and charm of a Kennedy candidate in the heart of Kennedy country, Harshbarger is already digging in for a long fight.

Pennsylvania Upbringing

Harshbarger is the son of a school teacher and the Brethren chaplain of Penn State University.

When the young athlete entered Harvard in the fall of 1960, he encountered a dramatic cultural shift from his hometown of Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa.

But Harshbarger's friends say that whether on the freshman football team or in any social situation, he quickly became a standout among peers and eventually was voted a Class Marshal.

Richard G. Darman '64, one of Harshbarger's Eliot House roommates and chair of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Bush administration, says that the transition was "irrelevant."

"He was an instant success at Harvard, helped undoubtably by his attractive personal style," Darman says.

While Darman and a third member of their Eliot House suite were both members of the Owl Club, Harshbarger did not join a final club.

Many of Harshbarger's friends said his upbringing has given him a strong moral background.

"He was a person who was totally confident of his own values," Darman says. "[His parents] are the world's most solid people in the way of values."

The attorney general says that the 1963 Yale Game remains one the strongest memories of his time at Harvard.

Harshbarger and his teammates were practicing for The Game when they learned that President John F. Kennedy '40 had been assassinated.

The Game was postponed a week as the University and the nation went into mourning.

Harshbarger, who grew up with Kennedy as a hero, feels that Kennedy's commitment to public service was one of the central principles of Harvard culture during that era.

"I was in college when public service was the most noble thing you could do," says Harshbarger.

After graduating from Harvard in 1964, Harshbarger took a fellowship at the Union Theological Seminary in East Harlem in New York City, where he spent a year working with church and community organizations.

After leaving New York, Harshbarger spent three years at Harvard Law School and graduated in 1968.

Instead of returning to Pennsylvania after school, Harshbarger chose to settle in the Boston area and now lives in Westboro, Mass. He has since married and has three children, including Anne M. Stephenson '98, who lives in Eliot House.

The State's First Lawyer

Although they say that he has a strong moral foundation, Harshbarger's colleagues are quick to add that he is a savvy politician.

Calling Harshbarger's leadership style "cautious," former State Rep. and Democratic candidate for governor Mark Roosevelt '78 says that the attorney general's ideals are not always carved in stone.

"On issues, he's not a driven ideologue," Roosevelt says.

Nonetheless, the attorney general has emerged as a state and national leader on several issues.

Harshbarger is gaining national publicity for his on-going legal battle with tobacco firms.

Massachusetts recently filed suit against major tobacco corporations in an effort to reclaim more than $1 billion that the state has spent on health care for ill smokers.

As president of the National Association of Attornies General, Harshbarger is trying to coordinate the efforts of several states that are filing similar suits.

Harshbarger is also becoming known for his opposition to gambling.

Since passage of the 1988 Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes have had the right to operate casinos on their land.

Many of the Bay State's smaller communities, traditionally burdened by weaker local economies, view gaming as a panacea.

The attorney general says that his position on gambling is not a moral decision but a matter of what is best for the economy in these cities.

"To have it, that's one thing, but don't sell it as a source of economic growth," Harshbarger says.

As attorney general, Harshbarger says that he has a very productive relationship with current Republican governor William F. Weld '66.

The attorney general says that as governor he would maintain the financial restraint that the Weld administration has made its signature.

Harshbarger says that he would not eliminate the current $900 million bond cap, a major part of the state's rise from near financial chaos.

But he says that the administration's funding priorities must be re-thought.

"I'd much prefer to have 24 leading New Bedford business people meeting with me regularly instead of trying to figure out how to get a casino," Harshbarger says.

Campaign Questions

While most state politicos are counting on a close race, they believe that Harshbarger faces tough odds.

As of March, Harshbarger's campaign committee had $554,975 in the bank while Kennedy, last required to report his balances in December, had $1,247,271 in his federal account.

Beyond his superior fund-raising power and his extensive political organization, many feel that Kennedy has other significant advantages.

When asked if he felt Harshbarger would be able to weather the Kennedy onslaught, one prominent state Democrat wasn't optimistic.

"It's a long haul, but not just for the reasons that most people would say," the Democrat said. "For better or for worse, Joe inspires a lot of passion and Scott doesn't.

But after watching Harshbarger's win the Attorney General's office in 1990, upsetting incumbent Democrat Jim Shannon Kennedy's supporters are not taking the challenge lightly.

"You cannot discount Scott Harshbarger, McGrail says. "You can ask Jim Shannon that and he'll tell you the same thing."

In addition, Weld has not eliminated the possibility of running for a third term in 1998, despite his previous pledges that he would restrict himself to two terms.

And while there are many indications that the gears of the Kennedy machine are already turning, Kennedy maintains that it is too early to begin campaigning.

"There's a time for campaigning and there's a time for governing," Kennedy said after speaking to constituents in Cambridge on Monday.CrimsonDavid WichsHarshbarger faces tough competition for the state's top post from U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.).

But Harshbarger's friends say that whether on the freshman football team or in any social situation, he quickly became a standout among peers and eventually was voted a Class Marshal.

Richard G. Darman '64, one of Harshbarger's Eliot House roommates and chair of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Bush administration, says that the transition was "irrelevant."

"He was an instant success at Harvard, helped undoubtably by his attractive personal style," Darman says.

While Darman and a third member of their Eliot House suite were both members of the Owl Club, Harshbarger did not join a final club.

Many of Harshbarger's friends said his upbringing has given him a strong moral background.

"He was a person who was totally confident of his own values," Darman says. "[His parents] are the world's most solid people in the way of values."

The attorney general says that the 1963 Yale Game remains one the strongest memories of his time at Harvard.

Harshbarger and his teammates were practicing for The Game when they learned that President John F. Kennedy '40 had been assassinated.

The Game was postponed a week as the University and the nation went into mourning.

Harshbarger, who grew up with Kennedy as a hero, feels that Kennedy's commitment to public service was one of the central principles of Harvard culture during that era.

"I was in college when public service was the most noble thing you could do," says Harshbarger.

After graduating from Harvard in 1964, Harshbarger took a fellowship at the Union Theological Seminary in East Harlem in New York City, where he spent a year working with church and community organizations.

After leaving New York, Harshbarger spent three years at Harvard Law School and graduated in 1968.

Instead of returning to Pennsylvania after school, Harshbarger chose to settle in the Boston area and now lives in Westboro, Mass. He has since married and has three children, including Anne M. Stephenson '98, who lives in Eliot House.

The State's First Lawyer

Although they say that he has a strong moral foundation, Harshbarger's colleagues are quick to add that he is a savvy politician.

Calling Harshbarger's leadership style "cautious," former State Rep. and Democratic candidate for governor Mark Roosevelt '78 says that the attorney general's ideals are not always carved in stone.

"On issues, he's not a driven ideologue," Roosevelt says.

Nonetheless, the attorney general has emerged as a state and national leader on several issues.

Harshbarger is gaining national publicity for his on-going legal battle with tobacco firms.

Massachusetts recently filed suit against major tobacco corporations in an effort to reclaim more than $1 billion that the state has spent on health care for ill smokers.

As president of the National Association of Attornies General, Harshbarger is trying to coordinate the efforts of several states that are filing similar suits.

Harshbarger is also becoming known for his opposition to gambling.

Since passage of the 1988 Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes have had the right to operate casinos on their land.

Many of the Bay State's smaller communities, traditionally burdened by weaker local economies, view gaming as a panacea.

The attorney general says that his position on gambling is not a moral decision but a matter of what is best for the economy in these cities.

"To have it, that's one thing, but don't sell it as a source of economic growth," Harshbarger says.

As attorney general, Harshbarger says that he has a very productive relationship with current Republican governor William F. Weld '66.

The attorney general says that as governor he would maintain the financial restraint that the Weld administration has made its signature.

Harshbarger says that he would not eliminate the current $900 million bond cap, a major part of the state's rise from near financial chaos.

But he says that the administration's funding priorities must be re-thought.

"I'd much prefer to have 24 leading New Bedford business people meeting with me regularly instead of trying to figure out how to get a casino," Harshbarger says.

Campaign Questions

While most state politicos are counting on a close race, they believe that Harshbarger faces tough odds.

As of March, Harshbarger's campaign committee had $554,975 in the bank while Kennedy, last required to report his balances in December, had $1,247,271 in his federal account.

Beyond his superior fund-raising power and his extensive political organization, many feel that Kennedy has other significant advantages.

When asked if he felt Harshbarger would be able to weather the Kennedy onslaught, one prominent state Democrat wasn't optimistic.

"It's a long haul, but not just for the reasons that most people would say," the Democrat said. "For better or for worse, Joe inspires a lot of passion and Scott doesn't.

But after watching Harshbarger's win the Attorney General's office in 1990, upsetting incumbent Democrat Jim Shannon Kennedy's supporters are not taking the challenge lightly.

"You cannot discount Scott Harshbarger, McGrail says. "You can ask Jim Shannon that and he'll tell you the same thing."

In addition, Weld has not eliminated the possibility of running for a third term in 1998, despite his previous pledges that he would restrict himself to two terms.

And while there are many indications that the gears of the Kennedy machine are already turning, Kennedy maintains that it is too early to begin campaigning.

"There's a time for campaigning and there's a time for governing," Kennedy said after speaking to constituents in Cambridge on Monday.CrimsonDavid WichsHarshbarger faces tough competition for the state's top post from U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.).