By John McElhenny, Associated Press, 11/05/02

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BOSTON -- Republican Mitt Romney, who returned to Massachusetts on a wave of Olympic glory, completed his sweep into the governor's office Tuesday by defeating Democrat Shannon O'Brien to replace acting Gov. Jane Swift.

The son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney had pledged to "clean up the mess on Beacon Hill," capitalizing on a wellspring of anti-government sentiment and fears that electing a Democratic governor along with the Democrat-controlled House and Senate would return Massachusetts to the dreaded days of "Taxachusetts."

Romney appealed for "a new era" of cooperation on Beacon Hill to help overcome the grave problems that will face the new administration, from failing schools to a faltering economy.

"I'm asking you to join me in forging a new era in Massachusetts, an era of inclusion where Republicans and Democrats and Greens and independents and people of all backgrounds and ethnic groups work together to create opportunities for all of our citizens," Romney said. "We will be a state united for the common good."

The election of Romney, a former venture capitalist, and his running mate, Kerry Healey, a former Republican Party chairwoman, continues 12 years of Republican control of the governor's office in this state where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly three to one.

Romney also defeated Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian Carla Howell and independent Barbara Johnson, who, along with O'Brien, had been vying to be the first woman elected Massachusetts governor.

Swift, a Republican, was appointed acting governor when Gov. Paul Cellucci was named ambassador to Canada.

O'Brien congratulated Romney and offered her help to the new administration.

"I told him there are a lot of people counting on him," said O'Brien, whose running mate, Chris Gabrieli, also was a venture capitalist.

"I hope that the new administration will put partisanship aside and work with the Legislature in these tough budgetary times to protect Massachusetts families," O'Brien said.

Romney, 55, led all candidates in the polls after his successful oversight of the Winter Olympic games, but his campaign nearly ended before it got going: Democrats filed a lawsuit to knock him off the ballot, claiming he didn't meet Massachusetts' residency requirement because of the time he lived in Utah.

The challenge was rejected in June, however, and Romney embarked on a campaign full of "work days" meant to dispel his wealthy, businessman image and help him understand the concerns of working people. He rode the back of a garbage truck around Boston, for example, pounded nails on the Big Dig, and even slung sausages at Fenway Park.

Romney's only previous political experience was an unsuccessful 1994 bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy. Romney's father ran for president in 1968 and his mother Lenore ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate from Michigan in 1970.

Eight years ago, Kennedy successfully attacked Romney's venture capitalist record, accusing him of profiting at workers' expense and even importing Indiana workers who said Romney had cost them their jobs.

O'Brien tried the same tactic, but this time around Romney was able to overcome the accusations, pointing out that the firm he founded, Bain Capital, had created tens of thousands of jobs around the country.

O'Brien's campaign focused on her experience as an "independent" public-sector manager, focusing on the four years she worked as treasurer, where she claimed to have "blown the whistle on the Big Dig" by forcing project managers to honestly report cost overruns.

The fourth generation of her family to work on Beacon Hill, O'Brien, 43, hoped to ride Democrats' nearly 3-to-1 advantage among Massachusetts voters to victory. She said her party affiliation would allow her to work with rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers to break the "gridlock" that prevailed under 12 years of Republican governors.

Romney tried to undercut O'Brien by tying her to the Beacon Hill establishment and highlighting the lobbying work of her husband, a former legislator.

He appealed to voters to elect a Republican to offset the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature, and he was able to overcome a substantial advantage that O'Brien enjoyed among women, according to polls.

Romney didn't shy away from his business record, pledging to use his business expertise to lure companies to Massachusetts, create jobs and keep taxes low. Romney said electing a Democratic governor would create a "Gang of Three" -- along with House Speaker Tom Finneran and incoming Senate President Robert Travaglini, both Democrats -- that would raise taxes.

All 12 Massachusetts members of Congress are Democrats, too.

Some voters voiced concern that Romney's national profile from the Olympics could land him a Bush administration post before completing his governor's term -- a sensitive topic in Massachusetts, where the last two Republican governors, William Weld and Paul Cellucci, left office before finishing their terms.

Romney and his wife, Ann, live in Belmont. They have five sons and four grandchildren.