Goodbye, Mistah Speakah

[shawmut]

and good riddance.




DiMasi said to secure speakership
Reaches deal with rival on tenure length

By Frank Phillips and Jenna Russell, Globe Staff | September 26, 2004

Veteran state Representative Salvatore F. DiMasi yesterday consolidated his hold on the speakership of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, moving quickly to fill the vacancy expected by the sudden departure of Thomas M. Finneran from the leadership of the 160-member chamber, lawmakers said.

DiMasi, a Boston Democrat and the House majority leader, struck a deal with his major rival, Ways and Means chairman John H. Rogers, late Friday night, heading off what could have been a divisive showdown to succeed Finneran.


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In this year's battle over same-sex marriage, DiMasi voted against Finneran's proposed constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as solely the union of a man and a woman, and that stated the Legislature "may enact" civil unions for gay couples. The Finneran amendment, seen as weak endorsement of civil unions for gays, failed 100-98 in a Constitutional Convention earlier this year.


Jennifer Levi, senior staff attorney for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said last night DiMasi was a friend to their cause while Finneran failed to support them.

"Finneran has been no friend to the gay community, and a change of leadership will be helpful," she said. "There's a lot that can happen between now and the next vote, but I would hope that this would be something positive for gay and lesbian families throughout the Commonwealth."



more ...


http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/09/26/dimasi_said_to_secure_speakership/

[Kat45]

1. Wow! How did I miss this? I didn't know Finneran was leaving.

Woo hoo!

[CarolynEC]

2. Aren't there some environmental regulations involved...

... when disposing of toxic sludge like Finneran?

[Killarney]

3. HALLELUJIAH!

:)

[Kathy in Cambridge]

4. Great News!

:bounce:

I can't stand Finneran, but he did keep Romney in line. I hope the next Speaker kicks Mittens' butt too!

[TaleWgnDg]

8. . . .

[TaleWgnDg]

5. Yes, this was expected . . . Finneran was getting antsy . . .

and the word was "out there" during this summer about Finneran's outreach into the private sector for a job.

Thus, before voting in this primary electon for state rep, I made damn sure that I cast my MA state rep vote for the candidate who pledged NOT to vote for John H. Rogers who is the present chair of the House Ways and Means Cmte, as the next Massachusetts House Speaker! damn sure!

Rogers, although a Democrat, is so reactionary, so ultra-conservative. He would be a much worse House Speaker than Finneran. And, yes, that IS possible.

Rogers has been "in bed with" Cardinal Law, Ronald A. Crews the evangelical ex-Georgia-state-legislator who's head of the "Massachusetts Family Institute" and its anti-gay agenda and who's running in Worcester against U.S. Representative James P. McGovern for the 3rd Congressional U.S. House District's seat, and others of similar neo-conservative political mindset, Democrats or not.

I've oft wondered if John H. Rogers is related to Cardinal Bernard Law's lawyer, Wilson Rogers Jr., who represented Cardinal Law in the sexual abuse of children cases and in other church matters too. My empathy was often extended to legal counsel for the victims when dealing w/ Law's attorney -- I don't know who was more rigid, Law or Wilson Rogers!

Make sure, Massachusetts voters, that you tell your state representative to vote "no" for John H. Rogers and "yes" for Salvatore F. DiMasi as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Call em up, make em accountable for your vote this November!

http://www.mass.gov/legis/member/sfd1.htm (Salvatore F. DiMasi's statehouse website)

DiMasi

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edited to add the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council url; it seems that they've been searching for a president . . . since Spring '04 . . .
http://www.massbio.org/lawpol/article.php3?a_id=21
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[Kathy in Cambridge]

6. Thanks for the heads up

I had no idea Rogers was a RW Catholic..

[TaleWgnDg]

7. yes, John H. Rogers is a social rightwinger . . . and

very set and rigid about it too. Reportedly, Rogers will be booted upstairs into the House Majority Leader's slot previously occupied by Sal DiMasi (and Speaker Finneran too). This, I hate to see, i.e., Rogers in a more powerful position than Chair, House Ways and Means Cmte (as if the Ways and Means Cmte wasn't powerful enough)!

My curiosity is piqued as to who will now chair the Ways and Means Cmte -- Ruane will be gone, and of course the new Speaker (Masi) will pick and choose who he wants to chair which cmte.

Btw, Massachusetts NARAL gives Rogers an "F." (see: http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:yElsdPtShTMJ:www.prochoicemass.org/assets/files/votersguide.pdf+%22JOHN+H.+ROGERS%22+AND+Massachusetts&hl=en) or if you want to bring up your Adobe Reader, it's: www.prochoicemass.org/assets/files/votersguide.pdf

And, the attorneys over at GLAD (who represented the several same-sex couples challenging the MA marriage laws), opine about Rogers social conservatism as well. (see, e.g., http://www.mlgba.org/briefs/March01.htm)

[TaleWgnDg]

9. here's a little bit more on John H. Rogers . . .

1.) his statehouse website at: http://www.mass.gov/legis/member/jhr1.htm

2.) his law firm website at: http://www.rflawyers.com/rogers.html

3.) Rogers wanted to include MA towns w/ jails and prisons counted as "low income housing" in order to kick-in federally funded (huge $$$) aid to those towns; I believe that occurred sometime in 2001. And where does Rogers live? One may say that he was fishing for constituency votes on the backs of the federal taxpayers.

4.) a "google" of Rogers will bring in more, I am sure.

However, I do not know what John H. Rogers personal religious practices may or may not be; instead, I stated that Rogers was very socially conservative, politically. He has often been in the very same corner with the gay-bashing "Massachusetts Family Institute" headed by (ex-Georgia legislator, Christian Coalition leader, and evangelical preacher) Ronald A. Crews, as well as an ear to the Roman Catholic lobby on Beacon Hill, and that he is anti-choice. Sorry that my use of the words "in bed with" (used above) gave you an erroneous conclusion about his religious affiliation.

[Arkana]

10. Finneran is a Zellocrat

He betrayed his party a long time ago. Good riddance.