CAMPAIGN ’88 : Harbor Gets Attention

Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis helped break ground Wednesday to begin a major phase of the multibillion-dollar cleanup of Boston Harbor and defended his decision not to start cleaning up the harbor, now considered the nation’s filthiest, during his first term as governor.

Earlier this year, Dukakis said that in hindsight it was a mistake not to begin the cleanup during the first term. But he seemed unwilling to go that far Wednesday, complaining of “revisionist history about this project” that blamed him for delays. That criticism, Dukakis said, “may or may not be connected with the presidential campaign.”

“Nobody could really tell us what to do to clean up this place (during his first term),” the Massachusetts governor said at Deer Island in Winthrop following a speedboat ride from Boston. “There were very respected people, experts in the field, who disagreed.”