Peabody for Government

After six years of fighting a hostile Democratic machine, Endicott Peabody has won a high elective office in the Commonwealth. He brings to the Governorship ambitious plans for reforming many of the archaic, corrupt practices of Massachusetts government. Peabody has proposed constitutional reforms which would strengthen the authority of a woefully impotent executive, reduce the workload of an overburdened legislature, and strike at corruption in Massachusetts by ending the confusion which surrounds much activity on Beacon Hill.

The most significant provision of the five-point Peabody revitalization program would increase the term of the governor and lieutenant governor from two to four years; it would require the State's two top executives to be chosen from the same party, to run and to serve as a team. Massachusetts governors are unduly restricted by a two-year term of office: as soon as a new governor is inaugurated he must begin to work for re-election and thus avoid implementing worth-while programs that might alienate large groups of voters.

When the governor and lieutenant governor belong to different parties, and the lieutenant governor's party has a majority in the legislature, governmental machinery becomes chaotic every time the governor leaves the State. Such hasty, unwise legislation as that which reached Lt. Gov. Edward McLaughlin each time Republican Gov. John Volpe crossed the state line cannot be tolerated any longer.

A four-year chief executive is of little use without an efficient legislature. Thus Peabody's proposals to grant extensive home rule to the cities and towns and to limit the legislative session to six months are vital to effective state government. Under the existing system in which the State administers many purely local functions, the General Court is deluged by a mass of trvial bills at each session. Legislators have neither the time nor the information to make wise decisions on most local problems, and although the General Court must have the authority to curb abuses of local power, the right to govern local affairs and solve local problems must belong to the cities and towns of the Commonwealth.

Once the General Court is freed of the burden of governing cities, a six month limit can be put on the legislative session. If the Governor needs to wrangle with the legislature for only half the year, he will be able to spend time shaping a coherent executive program.

The outmoded Governor's Council was established by Democratic legislators to keep a check on Republican governors, but even the Democrats now call for abolition of this useless agency. A fourth Peabody proposal would transfer the confirmatory powers of the Council to the State Senate and allow the Governor to make interim appointments while the General Court is not in session.

Finally, the Governor-elect has called for a substantial reorganization of existing State agencies in order to eliminate overlapping functions, and make all department heads responsible to the governor. This proposal, successfully implemented, will eliminate the source of much of the notorious corruption in Massachusetts.

Gubernatorial battles with the legislature and the opposition party have crippled many recent administrations. Peabody can succeed only by avoiding these conflicts. If the new governor is drawn into the major scramble developing for the Speakership of the State House of Representatives, his legislative program may remain a collection of unfilled campaign pledges. The attorney general is a key to implementing several of Peabody's ideas; but if the Democratic governor cannot work harmoniously with the Republican attorney-general, the new administration may lose its effectiveness.

Peabody's proposals for constitutional reform will have to pass both the 1963 and 1965 legislatures and then be placed on the ballot in 1966, but the crucial first steps are the responsibility of the Governor-elect. It may indeed, be "time for Peabody for Governor," but final judgement awaits proof of Peabody's ability to effect his ambitious and needed legislative program.