American Notes MASSACHUSETTS

Instead of soliciting checks from millionaire contributors, this candidate for Governor of Massachusetts cashes a $486 welfare check every month. Dorothy Stevens, 48, a single mother of four who has spent most of her life on welfare, announced her bid for the Democratic nomination last week. Her platform: a $10-an-hour minimum wage, universal child care and higher payments for families on public assistance.

Stevens is part of a national trend: the Detroit-based Welfare Rights Organization says similar candidates will run this fall in the Oakland mayoral race and legislative contests in Michigan and Maryland. A veteran welfare- rights lobbyist who earned a college degree in human-services planning, Stevens expects to be included in candidate debates and get equal radio and TV time. "We have homeless people fighting every day for food and shelter," she says. "Someone has to speak for them. That's what I intend to do."