Professor Leads Swift Running Mate Search

Though Acting Massachusetts Gov. Jane M. Swift announced only Thursday that she will run for reelection, Kennedy School of Government (KSG) lecturer Martin Linsky has already spent the past month and a half leading Swift’s search for possible running mates.

In early September, with her 2002 election plans still unclear, Swift called Linsky and asked him to help her evaluate prospective lieutenant governors.

He accepted.

Linsky, who commutes from his home in New York City to teach classes at the KSG, has known Swift since her days as a state senator, when he was an aide to then-Governor William F. Weld ’66.

His opinion of her since then hasn’t changed, he explains, calling her “terrific” and “a smart and thoughtful person who is completely comfortable with herself.”

Though he is acting in no official capacity and is working pro bono with other members of Swift’s political staff, Linsky plays an important role in Swift’s reelection campaign.

“The governor asked me if I would help her think through possible running mates—to call a lot of people and get their ideas,” he says.

Linsky says that he was asked by Swift to serve as her advisor in early September, before the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and has been evaluating candidates since.

At that point Swift was considering a run but “wanted to start the process [of looking for a running mate] in part to help her clarify” whether she should, he says.

“Marty was the clear choice to oversee this process because he is a brilliant independent mind who thinks outside the box,” says Pamela Jonah, an advisor to Swift, “he therefore provides a refreshing balance to such a sensitive process.”

“He is part of the governer’s inner circle,” she continues. “She values his advice enormously.”

Until now, about 30 candidates have been considered, with Linsky forwarding the names of potential running mates to Swift along with his comments and those of party members he has contacted.

“My job is to take what I hear and winnow it down and present it to her in terms so that she has some sense of consensus about individual people,” Linsky says.

Swift’s tenure in state government has been tumultuous. As lieutenant governor, she was reprimanded for allowing aides on the state payroll to babysit her children.

After former Gov. A. Paul Cellucci left to become ambassador to Canada and she was elevated to the governor’s office in April, it was revealed that she and her husband had lied on their marriage license about how many ex-wives he had. She also gained nationwide attention when she became the first state governor to give birth while in office in May, sparking debates about the role of women and mothers in politics.

In recent weeks, Swift has drawn approval ratings as high as 66 percent.

Though Linsky says “We’re really looking for something not too complicated — talented people with integrity who would be good partners” for Swift, the search hasn’t been without controversy. Earlier this year, former GOP party chair and millionaire James Rappaport announced that he would seek the lieutenant governorship against the wishes of Swift, who would prefer to choose her own running mate for the Republican convention to confirm.

“My own view is that she ought to be able to choose her running mate,” Linsky says. “Certainly some people have mentioned him, sure, but I think she’s made it known that he’s not at the top of her list.”

Speculation now is centered around Kennedy School senior fellow Marshall Carter after Swift’s first choice, Suffolk District Attorney Ralph Martin, announced he would resign to become a partner in a Bingham Dana, a high profile law firm.

Linsky anticipates that his search will be done by “the start of the new year.”

He says that he would like to have another part in Swift’s campaign, but that “it’s up to her.”