DiCara Confident of Electoral Success

Boston mayoral candidate Lawrence S. DiCara '71 seems to be talking a lot tougher these days.

The former five-term Boston city councilor from Dorchester was the only one of eight challengers to incumbent Kevin H. White to refuse to disclose to The Boston Globe the amount of his campaign contributions.

In an interview last week, DiCara charged, "The Globe has an obsession with money--it's inane."

DiCara--who finished well in the pack in a recent WBZ-TV poll--also does not shy away from making predictions about the outcome of September's open primary. The fight will be between himself, former Boston School Committee President David I. Finnegan, and Boston City Councilor Raymond L. Flynn, he says.

DiCara says he can finish at least second, third, or fourth in almost every section of the city.

The Harvard graduate terms the campaigning in the next few months an "organization fight," and cites the large number of "friends, classmates, lawyers, and doctors" who he says will contribute to his effort.

DiCara also repeatedly refers to his polling, which he says "shows I'm the second choice of Kevin White voters," adding, "and Kevin's time is probably over."

Nonetheless, he predicts that the four-term mayor--whose administration has been wracked by charges of corruption and the conviction of several top aides--will run again. "If I were Kevin White, I'd do it too," he adds. "I'd have trouble looking in the mirror, but I'd do it."

Leaving the Pack

DiCara has little praise for his fellow challengers, accusing them--with the exception of former State Rep. Melvin H. King--of avoiding the issues. He says, "there are some guys who are running who I don't even know what they stand for."

He predicts that some of the less successful candidates--such as former MBTA Manager Robert R. Kiley--will drop out of the race over the summer.

What makes DiCara different from the rest of the candidate pack? DiCara rapidly reels off part of his program for reforming the city:

* Reduce crime by placing more patrolmen on the street and casting the number of days off for cops each week.

* Construct a new jail so that criminals can be more swiftly processed.

* Reorganize the tax structure to reduce dependence on the property tax for revenues.

* Draw up a master plan of the city so its development is in the best interests of all the city's residents.

* Make the school debt a part of the city's overall debt.

The main ingredients of a successful mayor, says DiCara, are ideas and talent. And, not surprisingly, DiCara thinks he has the most of both.