Salvatore DiMasi will resign as Speaker

Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi (D-North End) announced Sunday night that he plans to resign from the Legislature Tuesday and forfeit one of the state’s most powerful positions amidst controversy.

Dimasi was Speaker of the House of Representatives for four years and a state representative since 1979.’ ‘ He sent a letter to his colleagues Sunday announcing the resignation.’

He has recently been under fire because his friend and former accountant, Richard Vitale, is facing illegal lobbying charges.’ A Dec. 17 Boston Globe article also reported that a federal grand jury is investigating payments friends of DiMasi, including Vitale, have received from a software company that received a $13 million state contract.

‘No matter what the cynics and critics will say, all of my actions as state Representative and as Speaker were based solely on what I thought was in the best interests of my district and the people of the Commonwealth,’ Dimasi said in his letter.

Dimasi’s move is a surprising one, especially since he was re-elected as speaker earlier this month without trouble, Boston University Statehouse program director Fred Bayles said.’ It also comes at a poor time for Massachusetts, he said.

‘There is the potential for a lot of dust in the air from politicking at a time when they really need to focus on the issues,’ Bayles said.

Representatives should not be fixed in a power struggle at a time when the state deficit is one of the most severe in decades, he said.

House Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo has more votes in the house over Norwood Democrat John Rogers, the two main contenders for DiMasi’s seat, Bayles said.’ However, that will not be decided until a caucus that will be held Wednesday in the House to elect a new Speaker, according to a Jan. 25 Boston Globe article.