Statehouse bid fails for BU's Levine
By Sara Georgini
Daily Free Press Staff Writer

A Boston University law professor's second and final Statehouse bid was shot down Tuesday night, as Julius B. Levine lost his battle for the Brookline House of Representatives seat to Democrat incumbent John A. Businger.

Levine lost the race Tuesday night by a 10 percent margin. Formerly a registered Democrat, Levine temporarily switched his party affiliation to Independent so he could challenge Businger.

Levine also ran unsuccessfully against Businger in 1994 for Brookline's sole seat in the state House of Representatives, ending up 500 votes— out of a total 13,500— short.

Levine first came to BU in 1969 after completing his doctorate at Harvard Law School and spending a brief stint as a Norfolk County assistant district attorney specializing in victims' rights. He has also served as a campaign consultant for U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-Mass.).

Levine said in a brief telephone interview yesterday that he will not seek a state Legislature seat again.

"I'm still fortunate to be able to work with our talented students," Levine said. "It's a little more quiet life now that I'm not campaigning."

During the campaign, Levine billed himself as the first post-rent control candidate. In 1994, Boston voters ratified ballot referendum Question 9 abolishing rent control, a system that operated all over Boston and Cambridge, limiting how much landlords could charge their tenants.

Levine, a Rhodes scholar and Harvard College alumnus, focused his campaign on four major issues: providing affordable housing, promoting local educational initiatives, enhan-cing job support and broadening environmental legislation like the Bottle Bill, the mandatory 5-cent refund on soda cans.

Levine yesterday wished Businger well.

"I hope he addresses the issues that our campaign did," Levine said. "I think he's received a wake-up call after our two campaigns."

Levine said he will continue teaching his trial skills course at the School of Law. In addition, he will continue to tackle town issues, like a rising town deficit, by continuing to serve on the Brookline Town Council.

"We're going to have to make some hard choices," Levine said of the decisions the Town Council will have to make about proposed cutbacks to neighborhood programs.