Shamie Re-Elected as Mass. GOP Chief

NEWTON--In a rare show of unity, Bay State Republicans met last night to re-elect Ray Shamie state party chair.

The election to another two-year term marks the first time in at least two decades the post has gone uncontested and comes at a time when Republicans are trying to turn the state's fiscal woes into political hay.

Prior to the formality of last night's vote, Shamie, a controversial figure when he sought the GOP's top spot, said he has won party support by being impartial toward Republicans of varying political stripe.

Shamie also acknowledged that with Republicans holding none of the six statewide elected offices and only 40 of the 200 state legislative seats, the party has a long way to go.

"It isn't that we've accomplished all we want to do; we've just made a start," said Shamie, a 67-year-old millionaire entrepreneur. "I think we conducted ourselves in a way that was impartial and fair and open to all party members."

Twice an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate, Shamie drew opposition in 1986 when he sought the state party post because of his conservative views. Some Republicans said Shamie was too far to the right politically to lead a party with progressive traditions.

Sen. Mary Padula (R-Lunenberg), Shamie's opponent in 1986, said she supported Shamie after having thought he was too conservative for the job.

"That was my concern. I think he's moderated a little bit," Padula said. "I find him more conciliatory. He strikes me as someone at least willing to listen to all sides."

The Padula-Shamie fight was merely the latest in a long line of intra-party battles for leadership that focused on ideology.

One example of Shamie's impartiality was his approval of the state party's maximum $3000 contribution to successful state Senate candidate Brian Lees of Springfield, even though Lees is among the most moderate of the Republican legislative delegation.

"I think he's done an outstanding job," said state Rep. Steven D. Pierce (R-Westfield), the House minority leader. "He's worked with groups that frankly some people thought he couldn't work with--the legislature and liberals and moderates."

House Majority Leader Charles F. Flaherty (D-Cambridge), a former Democratic state chair, said Shamie organized the party and outdid his predecessors in fund raising.

Republicans running for legislative seats across the state handed out literature coordinated by the party with similar broad themes tailored for local audiences. But Flaherty noted that the Democrats maintained their iron hold on the state Legislature, and he predicted no slippage in the 1990 statewide election.

In 1988, the state Republican Party raised $2.1 million. In this post-election year, fundraising is expected to decline to about $1.5 million, according to party spokesperson Michael Duffy. Last year Massachusetts led all other states in fund raising per registered Republican. The state's roughly 400,000 Republicans contributed an average of $5.40 cents each, Duffy said.

Shamie says the state's current budget crisis presents Republicans with an opportunity in 1990. "One of the most important reasons for optimism is the really bad job that's been done by the opposition party," Shamie said.

And Shamie in the coming year may face a problem unfamiliar to his recent predecessors: too many candidates for governor. With Gov. Michael S. Dukakis retiring, at least eight Republicans including Pierce, George Bush aide Andrew Card, state Sen. David H. Locke '51 (R-Norfolk) and former U.S. Attorney William F. Weld '66 have been mentioned as possible gubernatorial aspirants.