Speaker DiMasi to resign seat in House

BOSTON – In a letter last night to his colleagues, Speaker of the House Salvatore F. DiMasi announced he will resign from the Mass. Legislature effective 5 p.m. tomorrow.
“I am proud of all I have done and I leave with no regrets, not one,” DiMasi wrote. “For me and my family, it is time,” he added. “Time to move on, time to return to private life and time to return to my first professional love: the law.”
The speaker cited personal reasons for his decision, saying his departure is unrelated to the influence-peddling allegations that have been made concerning several of his friends.
That controversy had “zero” impact on DiMasi’s decision, David Guarano, a spokesman for the speaker, said in a statement today, according to WHDH-TV Channel 7. The speaker is “absolutely not” facing imminent arrest or indictment in the scandal, Guarano added. Rather, he said, DiMasi chose to leave now so he could be replaced before the legislature embarks on a key budget debate.
A lawyer and former assistant district attorney, DiMasi has served as the representative from Boston’s Third Suffolk District since 1979. Before being elected the House Speaker in 2004, he had served as assistant majority whip from 1996 to 1998, majority whip in 2001 and majority leader from 2001 to 2004.
Going forward, he wrote, “I intend to combine my legal and consulting work with many of the major issues we have addressed together during my time as speaker: expanding access to health care throughout the nation and increasing the use of cleaner, more renewable energy.”
Likely successors include Mass. Rep. Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who faces a challenge from Rep. John Rogers, D-Norwood, according to the Associated Press.
News and information from the Mass. General Court, as the commonwealth’s legislature is formally known, are available at www.mass.gov/legis.