Jan 7, 2009 6:44 pm US/Eastern
Sal DiMasi Re-Elected House Speaker
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Sal DiMasi (file Image)
CBS
Despite ethics investigations surrounding him,
Salvatore DiMasi was re-elected to his third term as Speaker of the Massachusetts House, one of the most powerful and pivotal positions in the longest continuously serving democracy on Earth.
It was an emotional day for DiMasi. The House majority formally embraced him as it had already done in the Democrats' caucus where he choked-up.
"I grew up thinking everyone was going to love me. I've come to the realization that's never going to happen."
He spoke of his position as a lonely post but said, "I found out that I have a lot of friends."
He later joked that he needed at least 81 friends, referring to the majority needed to be elected Speaker. The North-End Democrat grew up in a cold-water flat on Salem Street and has served in the House 30 years, nearly his entire adult life.
DiMasi avoided reporters' questions as he stepped out from the shadows of the ethics investigations involving lobbying efforts of close friends, including his accountant Richard Vitale whose arraignment on criminal charges was postponed this week until after today's House session. Vitale is accused of violating state lobbying laws by failing to report $60,000 he received from a group of ticket brokers.
While 135 of the 160 House members voted for DiMasi, 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans voted "present." One of them, Rep. Lewis Evangelidis, Republican of Holden, said "I think they're showing some dissatisfaction and I think a lot of us understand around this building that there's a very poor perception on Beacon Hill of all of us."
Democrat Jennifer Callahan of Sutton, who also voted "present," said, "In terms of consequences, I hope that the institutional climate doesn't become more challenging but any time you take a vote like this, you are concerned about that."
Democrat Bill Greene of Billerica voted for himself. The other members in the House voted for Republican Bradley Jones of North Reading who will retain his position as minority leader. DiMasi, speaking to Jones from the rostrum, said, "You lost a few votes here and there. It's OK, so didn't I," which brought laughter to the floor.
Even though this way a day of triumph and relief for the Speaker, he still has a budget crisis to confront and the ethics investigations that won't go away simply because he was overwhelmingly re-elected.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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