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Obituaries

Ex-Gov. Edward J. King, 81, Who Defeated Dukakis, Dies

Published: September 19, 2006

BOSTON, Sept. 18 — Edward J. King, a governor of Massachusetts who defeated the incumbent, Michael S. Dukakis, in the 1978 Democratic primary for governor but lost a rematch in 1982, died on Monday in Burlington, Mass. He was 81.

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Associated Press

Edward J. King in 1978.

Mr. King died after tripping and falling about 10 days ago, his son Timothy said. He never recovered from immediate surgery.

He was at first a conservative Democrat who believed in tax cuts and whose Roman Catholic faith guided his social outlook. President Ronald Reagan said Mr. King was his favorite Democratic governor.

Mr. King switched parties in 1985 because, he said, the Democratic Party had become too liberal.

An accountant by trade who never aspired to be a politician, Mr. King was urged to run after being ousted from his position as executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, a quasipublic agency that oversees Logan International Airport and the Port of Boston.

Mr. King engaged in a contentious primary against Mr. Dukakis, running on an antitax, pro-business and tough-on-crime platform. He won by a nine percentage point margin. Mr. King went on to beat the Republican, Francis W. Hatch, in the general election.

Mr. King ran on the slogan of “Make it in Massachusetts” and made his promise to attract high-technology jobs to the state the focus of his administration. He became a salesman for the state, courting out-of-state companies with incentives and did the same for agricultural companies.

He also brought back the death penalty in 1982, after voters approved a constitutional amendment to reinstate it, but the state’s highest court ruled two years later that part of the law was unconstitutional. The state does not have capital punishment today.

Mr. King faced problems, including a tax scandal in the Revenue Department and an aide who was indicted for corruption.

Mr. Dukakis defeated Mr. King in 1982 a campaign focused on corruption in which he called him a “cheerleader for Reaganomics.”

Mr. King considered running for governor as a Republican in 1986. He spent the rest of his career as a business consultant specializing in real estate.

Born on May 11, 1925, in Chelsea, Mass., Edward Joseph King was the second of four children born to Edward and Helen King. The family moved to East Boston when Edward was a boy. Mr. King was profoundly influenced by his uncle, a Jesuit priest who instilled Catholic values in Mr. King, his son said.

Mr. King went to Boston College, where he played football, and after graduation played three seasons of professional football as a lineman for the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Colts. He returned here to work as an accountant and was later comptroller of the Museum of Science.

Also surviving are another son, Brian, and five grandchildren. Mr. King’s wife, Josephine, died in 1995.

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