DiMasi gathers 135 votes, wins re-election as speaker

By Jeremy P. Jacobs, PolitickerMA.com Reporter

BOSTON - By a large margin, the Massachusetts House of Representatives re-elected state Rep. Salvatore DiMasi as its speaker on Wednesday.

DiMasi received the votes of 135 out of 159 members of the House. Seven Democrats voted "present," as did seven Republicans. Another nine Republicans cast their ballot for Republican state Rep. Brad Jones, who was re-elected as minority leader earlier Wednesday. State Rep. William Greene Jr., a Billerica Democrat, voted for himself.

"I want to thank my fellow members for your overwhelming vote of confidence today," DiMasi, a Boston Democrat, said in his prepared remarks. "I am grateful for your support. You honor me with your faith and you humble me with your trust as I continue to lead this institution, the people's house."

Prior to the vote, two Democratic state representatives, Thomas Calter of Kingston and David Torrisi, said they would vote "present" during the roll call because of the current allegations of ethical misconduct DiMasi faces.

The State House News Service reported (sub. req.) that the seven Republicans that voted "present" did so to protest Jones' leadership, not DiMasi's. State Rep. Lewis Evangelidis, the Republican that challenged Jones for his post, similarly earned seven votes in the GOP caucus' caucus earlier Wednesday.

DiMasi's overwhelming support comes as he continues to face allegations of ethical misconduct. The speaker is currently facing multiple investigations over his relationship to his friend Richard Vitale and Vitale's lobbying work to secure a state contract for a software company. Vitale was also recently indicted for allegedly violating lobbying rules in his work to help secure passage of ticket brokering legislation. That indictment includes improper contacts between Vitale and DiMasi, though DiMasi has not been charged with any wrong doing.

In his prepared remarks, DiMasi also applauded the accomplishments of the chamber. In 2006, he said, the chamber worked on groundbreaking to ensure all Massachusetts residents have health insurance.

"How did we do it?" he asked. "We stopped reaching for sound bytes and worked together toward solutions. We brought all the stakeholders into the room, empowered them and crafted legislation that has become a model for achieving universal health care for all Americans."

In the last session, he went on, the legislature, along with Gov. Deval Patrick, turned its focus to energy reform.

"And the results, from Green Communities and Green Jobs to Advanced Biofuels and Global Warming Solutions, have made us the envy of the nation," he said. "Environmentalists hailed our work as the greenest legislative session ‐ ever."

DiMasi also looked ahead at the challenges the state faces. He noted the economic crisis the state and country are now in the midst of but noted that those problems present opportunities.

"We can and we must reform our transportation system from the bottom up to make it fairer and more equitable for all so we can rebuild the public's faith," he said. "We can and we must reform our pension system. It is out of control and we can save billions of dollars going forward. We can and we must find cost savings in every city and town and throughout state government."

In the end, DiMasi called on his colleagues to work together toward solutions.

"Together, we will move this chamber forward to once again meet the challenges ahead and improve the lives of all of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," he said.

Jeremy P. Jacobs is a PolitickerMA.com Reporter and can be reached via email at noreply@politicker.com.

Post new comment

Most Active Stories

RSS Feeds

Comments

Post new comment