Frank Bellotti could show today’s pols how it’s done
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll ought to convene a council of former lieutenant governors.
And she could do no better than by honoring legendary Frank Bellotti as the chairman.
The former three-term attorney general—and onetime lieutenant governor—will be 100 years old May 3.
Driscoll could not only capitalize on the experiences of Bellotti and other former lieutenant governors, but be guided on how she should conduct the office in the future.
It is a tricky office, as those who have held it know. Officially its duties consist of presiding over the Governor’s Council when the governor does not, and becoming acting governor when the governor is out of state or vacates the office.
Often you are at the mercy of the governor who, hopefully, gives you something to do.
And while Bellotti’s perseverance to reach the century mark is remarkable, his perseverance to survive and excel in politics was remarkable as well. He would not go away and wore everybody down until they had to say yes. Today’s politicians can learn from him.
The handful of people including Bellotti who once held that office, and who are still among us are, Donald Dwight, 92, Tom O’Neill, 78, John Kerry, 79, Evelyn Murphy, 82, Jane Swift, 55, Kerry Healey, 62, Tim Murray, 55, and Karyn Polito, 56.
A State House gathering of the group would be an historical and instructive event.
But Bellotti, a U.S. Navy World War II veteran, would be the most interesting of all.
He still goes to work at Arbella Insurance Company where he is an executive..
Yet it is what Bellotti, who served as attorney general for 12 years, (1975-1987) did to transform the attorney general’s office from a backwater political Democratic Party hangout to a non-partisan first class law office is what he will be remembered for.
It is just too bad that since his departure the office has slowly reverted to its former ways, epitomized by Gov. Maura Healey who as attorney general turned the office into a regional headquarters of the Democratic Party, suing Republican President Donald Trump 100 times in four years.
Her successor, progressive Attorney General Andrea Campbell is following the same anti-Republican line. While Massachusetts is totally controlled by the Democrats, Campbell is pursuing three leftover cases dealing with Republicans.
They concern alleged campaign violations by state Sen Ryan Fattman of Sutton and Jim Lyons, the former head of the Republican State Committee, as well as charges that Dean Tran of Fitchburg, a former state senator, stole a gun from a constituent.
Healey obtained an indictment against Tran after he announced his candidacy against Democratic U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan of Westford. Trahan contributed and raised thousands for Healey’s campaign for governor. Despite the indictment Tran, a Vietnamese American, got 36% of the vote.
After losing a 1958 race for district attorney in Norfolk County, Bellotti was elected lieutenant governor in 1962. Back then the governor and lieutenant governor were elected individually to twoyear terms.
Shunted aside by Gov. Endicott
According to the author, Frank Bellotti, who served as attorney general for 12 years, (1975-1987) transformed the attorney general’s office from a backwater political Democratic Party hangout to a non-partisan first class law office. Here, he and Gov. Michael Dukakis appear on TV in 1976.
Peabody, Bellotti ran against Peabody and beat him in the 1964 Democratic primary, only to lose the election to Republican John A. Volpe..
Undeterred, Bellotti ran for attorney general in 1966 and was beaten by Republican Eliot Richardson. In 1970 he ran for governor, losing a four-man Democratic primary to Boston Mayor Kevin White. White was subsequently defeated by Republican Frank Sargent.
In 1974 Bellotti ran again for attorney general, this time winning. He revolutionized the office by moving it out of the political atmosphere of the State House to the McCormack State Office Building. He established a law library; he professionalized the office, firing the deadwood and hiring the best, many of whom later became judges.
He declined to seek a fourth term and left the office in 1987.
In 1990, at age 70, Bellotti in a last hurrah ran for governor again, losing the Democratic primary to Boston University’s John Silber, who was beaten by Republican Bill Weld.
It has been some ride.