Massachusetts’ First GOP Head in 16 Years Installed

William F. Weld on Thursday took office as Massachusetts’ first Republican governor in 16 years, warning there would be no quick fixes for a weak economy once dubbed the Massachusetts Miracle.

“While I promise no miracles, I can undertake to avoid past mistakes,” Weld said in his inaugural address.

He took the oath of office as his beleaguered predecessor, Michael S. Dukakis, made the traditional long walk down the Statehouse steps for the last time. He had served 12 years, more than any Massachusetts governor before him.

Both Dukakis’ political demise and the Massachusetts economic collapse began during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1988, but he was cheered by about 2,000 people who lined the stairway of the Statehouse and spilled onto the streets.

Weld never mentioned Dukakis by name but made it clear that the time for taxing and liberal spending is past.

“We have taxed our economy the way old-time doctors bled their patients, and with similar results,” Weld said.

Weld laid out his fiscally conservative philosophy in a speech marked by generalities rather than specifics about how to handle a deficit he has estimated could climb as high as $750 million.

Weld, 45, a former federal prosecutor who left the Justice Department after questioning the practices of his superior, then-Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, won especially enthusiastic applause when calling for a business-minded government.

President Bush sent a letter congratulating Weld for winning control of the state, which, as the home of Dukakis, became a key trophy for the GOP. In addition to gaining the governor’s seat, the GOP took enough seats in the Democrat-dominated state Senate to sustain Weld’s veto.

The inauguration was filled with carefully scripted pageantry, some of which dates to Revolutionary times. Dukakis handed Weld an 1884 Bible inscribed by then-departing Gov. Benjamin Butler and a key to the governor’s council chambers with a metal tag inscribed by Paul Revere.

Weld was one of three New England Republicans sworn in as governors Thursday.

In New Hampshire, Gov. Judd Gregg made fiscal austerity the hallmark of his inaugural address in a ceremony attended by First Lady Barbara Bush.

“Some programs will have to be reduced, some eliminated, many agencies will receive less funding,” said Gregg, whose state ended its fiscal year $11 million in the red.

The inauguration for Maine Gov. John R. McKernan Jr.’s second term was Thursday night at a privately financed ceremony in Augusta.