Democrats Ponder:

These days, State Senator Michael J. Barrett '70 (D-Cambridge) shows visitors a picture hanging on the wood-paneled wall behind his desk.

The photograph, from sometime in the late 1980s, pictures him smiling with State Rep. Mark Roosevelt '78 (D-Beacon Hill) and former Boston Mayor Raymond L. Flynn.

In previous years, Barrett says this picture represented just one of many tributes to his own legislative experience. But this year the picture carries special significance--all three men could square off in September for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

"That picture was taken in different times," Barrett says.

Last April, Barrett became the first Democrat to announce his candidacy Governor William F. Weld '66.

"The case I'll be making to Democrats in the coming weeks is that the candidate who beats Bill Weld Will be the candidate who can beat him at every level: concern for people, commitment to values, and command of ideas," Barrett said in a statement last April. "I'm ready to begin."

Barrett said in an interview at the State House last week that while Weld is a popular incumbent, he can be beaten by a Democrat who focuses his attention on the middle class.

"Weld has the conventional advantages of incumbency, name recognition and money," Barrett says. "An imaginative, daring challenge can capture the imagination of all the people who feel trod under by Bill's aloof and insensitive way of carrying himself."

Barrett graduated magna cum laude from the Government department and began his work in the State House as a representative in 1979. Since 1987, Barrett has represented Belmont, Watertown, and parts of Cambridge and Boston in the state senate. He presently serves as Senate Chair of the Committee on Health Care.

Barrett describes himself as "gutsy," a "new type of Democrat--the independent kind, the outspoken kind, the energetic kind" who understands why "some people have accused me of being idealistic."

As a state senator, Barrett led a crusade for tougher educational standards in Massachusetts.

In a 1990 article in the Atlantic which gave Barrett national recognition, he wrote, "Call it Huck Finn's law: The authentic American flourishes in spite of schooling, not because of it."

Barrett has also sponsored bills guaranteeing homosexual rights, banning assault weapons and strengthening the rights of housing tenants.

But Barrett went against special interests within his party by supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and by backing a state bill allowing privatization of some government services.

"I try to ignore the pressures that come at me every day from the special interests in this state," Barrett says. "I always ask myself before voting whether a normal human being would consider my position sane and sensible or absolutely wacky, except by State House standards."

Barrett, like conservative columnist George F. Will, says he believes political debate has become less intellectual and thoughtful and "more and more hostile to genuine ideas."

Barrett says he began campaigning seriously for governor last summer when he walked across Massachusetts.

"I've walked 400 miles on foot--every inch," Barrett says. "I did not feel qualified to run for governor until I walked across the state; there were whole cities I'd never spent more than passing car time in."

Barrett says his walk offered him a new perspective on the future of manufacturing in Massachusetts.

"There's a way to harness basic brain power to basic manufacturing," he says. "In Lawrence at the New Balance shoe factory, the owners have instituted something called total quality management, which gives power and flexibility to the front-line worker."

Barrett says his walk led him to make job creation his top priority.

"I believe job creation is the key welfare of Massachusetts families," Barrett says. "That means you've got to have an intelligent policy that marries business interests to the traditional commitments of the Democratic party."

But Barrett says Weld has not done enough to increase employment.

"He's presided over the loss of 130,000 jobs since January 1991, yet he proposes to manufacture 50,000 jobs out of thin air," Barrett says. "That's Reaganomics all over again."

Barrett insists he is not running on a "no-new-taxes" pledge, but does say he has no plans to raise the income or sales tax.

"I'm proposing a steady-state approach, which means I reserve the right to mess around on the margins by raising or lowering smaller taxes," Barrett says. "But I'll maintain a steady-as-you-go approach with regard to the income and sales tax."

In his State of the State address last month, Weld said he hoped to lower tax rates because an improving economy may lead to a budget surplus. Barrett says he would rather spend this money on government programs than return it to people.

"The name of the game is to persuade people that Weld's tax cuts aren't worth it and that we should take the increasing tax revenue and reinvest it for decent programs," Barrett says. "That is $700 million for this fiscal year."

Barrett also criticizes Weld's approach to crime.

"Weld will pose as a governor who's tough on crime, but he has cut aid to municipalities so deeply that there are now fewer police on the streets in every Massachusetts city than when he became governor," Barrett says. "He's responsible for people feeling less safe when they walk to the corner store, because police presence is drastically reduced."

Personal safety is a familiar theme for the candidate. In a Boston Globe article last November, Barrett said, "I'm the guy who walks across the state, who stands up to Bill Bulger, and who insists Bill Weld doesn't give a damn about you and your family."

Barrett says the evidence that Weld does not care about individuals is the governor's stance on jobs, the economy and health care.

"Weld was one of two governors of the country who failed to mention health care in [his] 1993 State of the State address, and he failed to discuss the topic again in 1994," Barrett says. "I became convinced watching Weld dealing with ethics that he would be a status quo governor--complacent about business as usual."

Cambridge City Councillor Katherine Traintafillou, who has worked with both Barrett and Roosevelt on various legislative projects, says many Democrats are not sure how the two candidates are different.

"The problem with a lot of people is that they've worked with Mark and Barrett [together on the same projects]," she says. "The issue is trying to separate them from each other and make the electorate know they are an alternative to Governor Weld."

But Barrett says he and Roosevelt differ on some issues. "There are a large number of issues, including the death penalty, where Mark has just changed the commitment of a lifetime to come out in favor of capital punishment," he says. "I'm saddened that Mark has changed his position in the hurly-burly of an election year; it makes him look like a young politician on the make."

Rumors have circulated that former Mayor Flynn, currently the American Ambassador to the Vatican, may return to Massachusetts to run for governor.

Barrett says Flynn will probably jump in the race, and that the former mayor's entry "will make the race much more interesting and give the race much more visibility."

With Flynn's entry, Barrett says "the difficult question of abortion rights then becomes defining. Ray is strongly pro-life--I am strongly pro-choice."

Barrett says Flynn's entry will severely hurt Roosevelt's chances "because the city of Boston cannot support two candidates for governor."

Triantafillou says she doesn't know who will win the nomination. But the city councillor adds that Barrett is campaigning well so far. "It's hard to call [the election], especially with the rumblings of Ray Flynn back to town," Triantafillou says. "[Barrett]'s a hard working legislator, and he seems to be doing all the right things."

Steve Grossman, former chair of Massachusetts' state Democratic party, has already endorsed Barrett, whom he compares to former U.S. Sen. Paul E. Tsongas (D-Mass).

"Political courage counts for a lot," Grossman says. "I think he has been prepared to challenge leadership on a variety of issues. I'd like to see a governor who is bold, innovative, risk-taking and willing to challenge special interests."

Triantafillou says the election "is going to come down to whether people are upset with Weld on social issues."

But fellow Democrat Jim Braude, executive director of the Tax Equity Alliance for Massachusetts, says Barrett is too much like a republican and does not care enough about the beliefs of the Democratic party.

"He takes a politically transparent no-new-taxes pledge, rushes to embrace Weld's proposal on welfare reform and crime, votes to repeal a ballot-endorsed corporate tax disclosure plan and continues to waffle on a graduated income tax," says Braude, who may enter the race.

"This is not the profile of a liberal Democrat but a born-again Republican," he says.

But Barrett says he is a liberal Democrat despite Braude's accusations and that Braude is "a far left vantage point against which Democratic programs can be weighed."

And a traditional liberal Democrat can't beat Weld--and that particular objective, not internal squabbling over issues, should be the party's focus, Barrett says.

"There is an analogy there," Barrett says. "When Mario Cuomo and Sen. Bill Bradley decided that George Bush was too tough to beat, a fresh face named Bill Clinton got his shot."

"Some would call Mark and me second-tier candidates," he adds. "I alwas correct them--we are the new tier candidates, and we're exactly what Massachusetts needs."