Nominating a K-School Ticket

It's a small world--especially in Massachusetts politics.

Last weekend, the state Democratic convention endorsed Michael S. Dukakis and Evelyn Murphy for the two top state offices of governor and lieutenant governor The nominations are non-binding as the official Democratic candidates will not be decided until the September primary but many observes feel there is a good chance the two will share the ticket in November If that occurs, it will be only the latest in a series of parallel events in the two careers.

Dukakis was elected governor in 1974, and when he was sworn in the next year, he appointed Murphy as his secretary of environmental affairs. The worked together for the duration of the term, and following Edward J. King's upset victory in the 1978 primary, each left the State House to reflect on past experiences and future careers.

Both spent this transition phase at the Kennedy School of Government, arriving at Boylston St in the second semester of the 1978-79 academic year.

Dukakis was hired as a lecturer in the mid-career program and as director of the newly formed state and local executive program. He stayed in this capacity until leaving the school at the conclusion of the first semester this year to begin campaigning full-time. Murphy was invited as a follow at the Institute of Politics (IOP) for one semester, after which she began her long haul for the lieutenant governorship.

Because he spent more time here, Dukakis talks of his stint at the K-School as a more significant period in his life. He maintains that "I promised myself I would not think seriously about politics for at least two years" after arriving, but from the day he started work, he picked up valuable insight that has helped him in his re-election campaign.

As an instructor, he taught one course with two sections each semester. The classes, among the most popular at the school, dealt with internal and external considerations of management. Like most teacher at the school, Dukakis used the case study method--presenting a hypothetical management problem to students, and then conducting the class as a question and answer session. Several of his former students credit Dukakis says he used some of his personal experiences as case studies--he cites one difficult negotiating session he had with state police--but stresses that he relied mostly on other examples.

Administrators praise the former governor for helping the school in several ways. He helped the fledgling state and local program get off the ground. Taking over as its first director, he gathered money and developed curriculum for the three-week summer program and help run the training camp for officials for three years. Similarly, some argue that his presence helped increase the emphasis in the curriculum on state and local programs, shifting away from the purely national approach. As one professor puts it. "He put state and local on the map at the Kennedy School."

Also, as the highest ranking political official ever to teach at the K-School be can take some credit for creating a more favorable attitude on the part of administrators toward hiring "practioners" as opposed to "professors". Calling Dukakis's teaching very successful. Manny Carballo, an instructor of Public Policy who worked closely with the former governor, says that Dukakis "added validity to the conception that someone does not have to have a Ph.D. to teach."

But the real question on the minds of political analysis is what the Kennedy School did for Dukakis. He himself singles out the opportunity it gave him to leave active political life and begin to think about the issues, concerns, and problems you have in government." The class discussions and the consultations he had with "top-notch faculty" were beneficial but he says it "was less a question of learning than reflecting." As Carballo says, "When you're in government, decisions have to be made the day before yesterday," but in school you have time to mull over them.

Another aspect Dukakis is more reluctant to discuss is the specific insight he has gained since leaving office. Many attribute his defeat four years ago to arrogance, an unwillingness to deal with people and a feeling that he was somehow above politics. One K-School official who asked not to be identified says that "many people believe he stopped being political the day he took office."

But at the school he taught courses in management and how to deal with outsiders. Doug J. Skowron, a first-year K-School student, says "the class is a sort of a therapy. He had his problems with legislative relationships [during his term]." Skowron added that "he continually harped on the theme that you've got to work with these people. If you dismiss them as political hacks, you won't get anything done." Another says that Dukakis consistently stressed "coalition building."

"You can combine good government with good politics. That is a profound insight Michael gleaned while he was at the Kennedy School," an administrator says.

Murphy also points to the political lessons as the greatest ones she learned at the K-School. Before working for Dukakis, she worked in private business. As a fellow, she taught a study group entitled "The Politics of Administrative Reform: Choices Between Consensus and Confrontation." For the weekly discussions, she brought in speakers--including Dukakis--to examine "the styles and structure for effecting change." She also spent her time doing research on state utilities and alternative energy sources, which eventually became the basis for a piece in the Boston Globe encouraging the state to urge alternative development.

Specifically, she says that her time at the IOP encouraged her to expand her interests beyond environmentalism, and more generally it helped her to decide to run for state office. "I made my decision at the institute of Politics that the next step up for me was the lieutenant governor's office," she says, adding that from those six months, I concluded that would be the best way to expand my commitment to the public sector.

Jonathan Moore, director of the IOP says he discussed the possibility of running for office with Murphy several times and that he encouraged her to take the step. "She has a fine capacity to think about problems and know how they can be addressed politically," he says, explaining why he took the rather unusual step of encouraging one of the fellows into elective politics.

Richard Kendall, who worked under Murphy in the State House, and who is now a campaign adviser says that her experiences at the IOP "furthered her own understanding of coalition building. "It enhanced "her decision making abilities and sense of self-confidence," he adds, concluding that "she is now even a more powerful public administrator."

Both candidates have also taken more tangible benefits with them, Nicholas T Mitropolous, director of the Forum at the IOP is now with Murphy's campaign-- he worked the floor as one of her whips at the convention Saturday. Moore says he does not consult with her on the specifics of the campaign, but that they still keep in touch, and he adds that she does get issues advice from some professors.

Dukakis now has Ira A. Jackson '70, associate dean of the K-School, working as an issues adviser. Jackson in fact speech for the convention's nomination and does some issue advising. And several of his students have done volunteer work. But Jackson stresses that Dukakis kept his campaigning and teaching scrupulously separate. "I am sure that he didn't use the three years at the Kennedy School to develop his policies. Some people are surprised that he didn't hit the ground running, and they ask why he didn't amass a bevy of advisers to write white papers."