UMass pollster worked on side

The Boston Globe reports:

Louis C. DiNatale, for a decade the producer of public opinion polls at the University of Massachusetts, has quietly moonlighted as a paid political consultant for several years, and informally advised three current gubernatorial candidates, arranging a poll by his top aide for one of them.


DiNatale's freelance work includes a private poll conducted last month for a group engaged in an expensive lobbying effort to deregulate the state's automobile insurance rate-setting process. In addition, two close business associates or DiNatale himself have conducted polls, provided other campaign services, or offered advice to the state Senate's top Democrat, several other candidates, and two referendum campaigns.

DiNatale disclosed the outside work to his superiors last week, after the Globe inquired about the arrangements and the potential appearance of a conflict of interest. Yesterday, the executive vice chancellor at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Frederick Sperounis, issued a statement saying: ''To eliminate even the appearance issues, Mr. DiNatale has agreed not to accept any further private survey work."

Do you think the MSM will make a big deal of this? Virtually all professors are Democrats so this kind of thing can happen.