Choose Harshbarger

In this election year, voter turnout is expected to be low in reaction to President Clinton's problems, the increasingly negative tenor of the campaigns and the strong economy. We hope that Massachusetts, never a state to follow the national trend, will be different. When citizens go to the polls next Tuesday, we urge them to cast their vote for L. Scott Harshbarger '64 for governor of the Commonwealth.

Voters should not be distracted by the shouting match that has been this campaign; Harshbarger and his opponent, Acting Governor A. Paul Cellucci, have markedly different positions on issues important in this state.

As attorney general, Harshbarger has been consistently successful at prosecuting political corruption on both sides of the aisle. He has gained praise for his hands-on work fighting against domestic violence and for gun control. His anti-death penalty stance is one which this staff whole-heartedly supports.

Harshbarger's record stands in stark contrast to the weak performance of his opponent, Cellucci, who has been riding the coat-tails of his popular predecessor, William F. Weld '66, and the strength of the state economy. Cellucci has little to show for his more than a year in office. His much-publicized budget cuts this summer removed necessary funding from worker training and adult education programs while doing little to aid the Commonwealth's working families. Finally, Harshbarger and Cellucci differ markedly on the most important issue of this campaign: education. Cellucci has been inconsistent in his support of education reform, at one point opposing a measure to test teachers.

Now that he has changed his mind, he has contributed only to an atmosphere of teacher-bashing by making uninformed comments on last summer's teacher tests and allowing his board of education to legislate without real oversight. Harshbarger, on the other hand, has been consistently reasoned and rational in his support of comprehensive education reform, including fair teacher testing and evaluation.

Additionally, he has rightly pointed to the need for a complete overhaul of the board of education, beginning with the removal of Chair John R. Silber. We need a governor who believes that education is important and is willing to make education reform his top priority. This election is too important to be ignored in the mess of negative campaigning and voter apathy. Come Nov. 3, Scott Harshbarger is the right man for the job.