The longest-serving governor of Massachusetts spends his time picking up Boston's trash

No one likes to live in a dirty, trash-filled city — especially not former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. A Boston resident had an incredible run-in with Dukakis a few days ago, David Kenner shared:

In which ex-governor and pres nominee Dukakis picks up trash in Boston. Hard to imagine this happing in the Mideast. pic.twitter.com/ITcErVPNpQ

— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) August 14, 2015

"This morning I befriended a nice old man who was picking up garbage at the train station on his way to work," Sarah E. Godfrey wrote to the Boston Globe.

"What a good citizen you are!" I said. He was grouchy and told me the train stations were always filthy. I agreed, but cringed when he bent down to pick up a food wrapper and what looked like a used napkin. I told him to make sure he washed his hands when he got to work. "That’s what my wife says," he replied.

He threw his collection in the trash bin when we got to the top of the stairs, then turned to me and asked, "How many ex-governors do you think go around picking up trash at train stations?" I laughed, and said, "Not many." Then his comment sunk in. I asked if he had, um, actually served as governor of Massachusetts. "Yes, for 12 years!" And that is how I met Michael Dukakis.

How many politicians ever get their hands this dirty?

Will you join us?

Our biggest supporters are our readers — and we’re so grateful to everyone who has made a contribution during our September campaign. We’re less than 1,000 contributions away from reaching our goal for the month, which in turn will allow us to say yes more often when our incredible journalists come to us with questions they want to answer and projects they want to pursue. Will you make a contribution before the month ends and support our policy coverage through 2024 and beyond?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via