A scavenger hunt for political has-beens

Whatever happened to …? That is the question. They were once movers and shakers in the byzantine world of Bay State politics. But now they are off the radar screen. They had clout, savvy, even–some of them–longevity. Today, they value their hard-earned (and well-deserved) obscurity. But CommonWealth tracked them down. Can you match these blasts from the past with what they’re up to now?

  1. Margaret M. Heckler was a Republican congresswoman from Wellesley for eight terms, until she lost to first-term Democrat Barney Frank in 1982, after redistricting cost Massachusetts a seat. She also served in the Reagan cabinet and as US ambassador to Ireland before disappearing from view. Where is she now?
  2. Tommy McGee was the cigar-chomping House Speaker from 1975 to 1985. The autocratic ex-Marine held his House seat for 28 years before he retired from politics. But his name lives on in more ways than one.
  3. If his predecessor was small and petulant, House Speaker George Keverian of Everett was large and amiable. But that didn’t stop him from overthrowing his former boss in a 1985 House coup. After losing the Democratic primary for state treasurer to fellow state representative Bill Galvin (who lost in turn to Republican Joe Malone but bounced back four years later to become secretary of state), Keverian dropped out of sight, but not out of public service. Where did he land?
  4. Remember the 1990 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and running mate of former BU president John Silber? Bet you do. As a 1998 congressional hopeful, Marjorie Clapprood declared in an ad: “Send me to Congress and I’ll kick those butts from here to Washington, and that’s a promise.” Hasn’t shut up since.
  5. Ed King was elected governor as a Democrat in 1978, beating then-Gov. Michael Dukakis, but then rejected by the Dems in 1982, when they put the Duke back in. Even after switching parties, King couldn’t decide which one he preferred, supporting the failed gubernatorial bids of Republican George Kariotis in 1986 and Democrat John Silber in 1990. What other underdog has he backed recently?
  6. Danvers Republican Peter Torkildsen was elected to Congress in 1992. But his 1994 challenger, John Tierney of Salem, wouldn’t go away, unseating him in ’96. Torkildsen tried to return the favor two years later, but to no avail. He’s given up his congressional aspirations, but he still shows some interest in public service.
  7. Royall Switzler, former Republican state rep. and conservative gadfly from Wellesley, was forced out of the 1986 race for governor because he inflated his military record, retrospectively appointing himself a Green Beret in Vietnam. But his career in elective office didn’t end then.
  8. Michael Barrett made a name for himself nationally with an Atlantic Monthly article calling for longer school days and longer school years. But since his 1994 run for Democratic gubernatorial nomination fizzled, this former state senator’s gotten more mileage out of his chairmanship of the Legislature’s Health Care Committee.
  9. Gerry Studds, former US rep. from Cohasset, survived a scandalous fling with a House page, then retired in 1997 after 24 otherwise distinguished years in Congress. He’s since left both Washington and the South Shore, but can’t stay away from the water.
  10. Former state treasurer and 1998 Republican gubernatorial hopeful Joe Malone has found that, in the private sector, a track record of having underlings walk out of the office with bags full of cash doesn’t disqualify him from management.
  1. This Surfside, Fla., resident was said to be touting Allston as the site for a new Red Sox ballpark.
  2. Now working for Jenzebar.com, a Cambridge-based Internet company that provides administrative software and online courses to colleges and universities.
  3. Now chairman of the Board of Assessors in the city he used to represent.
  4. He worked for Sotirios G. Emmanouil, whose promise to revive the Quincy shipyard ran aground, with the federal government seizing the yard because the Greek shipbuilder was in default on a $59 million government-backed loan. But since May 1999, this ex-pol has been executive director of the still-to-be-built New Bedford Oceanarium.
  5. His son and namesake represents his home city in the state House of Representatives.
  6. Though bumped from her morning drive-time gig last year, she is back on the airwaves. In her volunteer hours, she is also a cochairwoman of the Jane Doe Safety Fund.
  7. Recently threw his hat into the ring for a town manager job in North Andover but promptly withdrew his name from consideration.
  8. After three terms as town selectman, he was defeated recently by just over 100 votes.
  9. Now an analyst with Forrester Research, a Cambridge-based firm that analyzes technology change and its impact on businesses, consumers, and society.
  10. Though now living in Arlington, Virginia, this ex-pol made an appearance at an August fund-raiser for Lawrence P. Novak, a Brockton Republican who ran unsuccessfully for Plymouth County register of probate.

 

Answers:

  1. (j)
  2. (e) In 1985, North Shore Community College also named a building after him.
  3. (c)
  4. (f) In January, Clapprood became the 9A.M. to noon host on WMEX-AM (1060) radio.
  5. (a)
  6. (g) He decided against becoming town manager, but Torkildsen, who started a consulting firm that gathers investors for commercial real estate partnerships, still chairs Gov. Cellucci’s Seaport Advisory Council.
  7. (h)
  8. (i) Barrett is a health care analyst for Forrester. Prior to that, he was a chief executive officer of the Visiting Nurses Association of New England.
  9. (d)
  10. (b)