Massachusetts
Related: About this forumAt 90, Michael Dukakis still looks ahead
MICHAEL DUKAKIS did not pick himself up from searing campaign losses or persevere to serve longer than any governor in Massachusetts history by viewing the glass as half empty, and hes not about to start doing so now.
Dukakis has long been fueled by a steadiness of purpose and belief that better days are to come. His stride may have slowed from his power-walking days of the past, but the one-time Brookline High School cross country standout is still firmly oriented toward forward motion. Thats true whether its talking up the need to build more housing, or continuing the push to link North Station and South Station, a campaign on which hes found an unlikely bedfellow in Bill Weld, the Republican governor who succeeded him in office.
Hes a long distance runner, said Ira Jackson, a protege and close confidant who served as state revenue commissioner under Dukakis. Hes indefatigable. Hes tenacious.
Hes also 90 years old, a milestone Dukakis reached earlier this month that might be expected to put one in a reflective mood.
Read more: https://commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/at-90-michael-dukakis-still-looks-ahead/
enid602
(8,985 posts)Wow! Good for him.
elleng
(135,660 posts)*Dukakis is credited with reorienting the states Democratic Party away from big-city machine politics and toward the more policy-focused outlook of suburban voters and progressive activists.
Hes inspired whole generations and more to take seriously state and local government, said Jackson. For many of us, hes our generations John F. Kennedy, inspiring us to do whats right for your community, not just your country.
He was ahead of the curve in pushing a universal health care law in the late 1980s. He saw the need for a robust public transportation system to power a major metropolitan economy when others were still fixated on the auto age. '