Romney took on 'outsider' role at helm of Bay State

The series  » Series link — Special report from The Boston Globe

A year before the torch-lighting of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, Mitt Romney's leadership was earning him mentions as a candidate for governor — in two states.

Future public service was likely, he declared, either in Massachusetts or Utah, where some pundits theorized he might fit in as a Democrat. Speculation increased about a run in conservative Utah when he objected to a July 2001 story in the Salt Lake Tribune describing him as "pro-choice" on abortion. "I do not wish to be labeled pro-choice," his letter to the editor said.

Late in 2001, a column in Salt Lake City's Deseret News, headlined "Romney has a shot at Utah governorship," cited sources close to Romney who believed "he wants a position with enough national exposure to launch a presidential campaign."

Massachusetts was clearly the bigger launch pad, but there was an impediment — Jane M. Swift, who had become acting governor when Paul Cellucci became ambassador to Canada. She was preparing to run in 2002, and Romney had said there was little chance he would challenge a sitting Republican.

Swift, however, was slipping into free fall after political missteps compounded earlier ethical transgressions that had resulted in a $1,250 fine for using her aides as baby sitters.

Panic-stricken Republican activists feared the loss of the governorship, their only prize in the lopsidedly Democratic state.

Antitax activist Barbara Anderson recalls leaving the following message on Romney's answering machine: "I know you're really busy now with the Olympics, but when you're finished, please come back and save Massachusetts."

The state party's new chairwoman, Kerry Healey, discreetly flew to Salt Lake City to gauge his intentions. He was noncommittal.

When the Games closed on Feb. 24, Romney recorded an amazing favorability rating of 87 percent in a Deseret News/KSL-TV poll. In Massachusetts, Romney's own poll showed he would be a viable candidate against any Democrat.

Meanwhile, his agents were quietly hiring staff and consultants, and scheduling a formal announcement — whether Swift was in or out.

The health of Ann Romney, his wife, was a factor in the decision. A day before returning to Massachusetts, she told a Globe reporter that she had reservations about the move because her multiple sclerosis symptoms had abated during three years in Utah. "It's the one thing that's keeping us ... " she said before her husband interjected: "Careful. Hold it. Don't finish that sentence ... " But she did, saying she had "huge qualms because I've been healthy out here."