November 7, 2018
By Ollie Rourke, Bella Gharabegian and Talia Blatt
Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts and 1988 presidential candidate, recently visited Lexington High School. Dukakis served as governor from 1975-1979 and 1983-1991 and was the Democratic presidential candidate in the 1988 election, losing to the Republican candidate, George H. W. Bush.
“In my mind he’s still frozen as the guy from the 1980s,” Larry David, a U.S. History and U.S. Government and Politics teacher at LHS, said. “It’s not everyday that you get someone who’s a former governor and candidate for the highest office in our country to come in and speak.”
In the library media center, Dukakis gave a speech and answered questions from the crowd, which was mainly composed of students from social studies classes. Dukakis described his career as the longest serving governor in Massachusetts history. He noted that corruption posed a challenge early in his term.
Dukakis emphasized that the biggest challenge facing Massachusetts currently is public transportation, particularly in Boston.
“In a few years, things will be completely jammed,” Dukakis said. He supports the construction of The North-South Rail Link, a proposed pair of rail tunnels that would connect North Station and South Station in downtown Boston.
Dukakis also encouraged the crowd to consider pursuing a career in public service.
“He stressed the importance of public service, which he said was very rewarding, but financially modest,” David said.
Dukakis also noted his fiscal accomplishments; he was particularly proud of revitalizing the economy during a period of slow growth.
“He was really passionate about civic engagement,” Luke Eriksson, a senior in David’s U.S. Government and Politics class who attended the speech, said. “He was quite proud of his tenure as governor. His best quality was his ability to garner bipartisan support and communicate with politicians across the aisle.”
“I thought he was very entertaining and he had a good message. You always have to worry about any political aims or biases, but it was definitely worthwhile,” David said.
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