Thursday afternoon, House Speaker Robert DeLeo appointed his senior leadership and made assignments to all standing and joint committees. DeLeo kept most of his senior leadership team intact, with Ronald Mariano, Patricia Haddad, and Byron Rushing continuing as Majority Leader, Speaker Pro Tempore, and Majority Whip respectively. Haverhill Democrat Brian Dempsey will also remain in place, serving once again as chair of Ways and Means. He will be joined by Western Massachusetts Representatives Stephen Kulik (D – Worthington), who returns as vice chair, and Benjamin Swan (D – Springfield), the newly appointed assistant vice chair, making the Commonwealth’s western region, which has faced economic struggles in recent years, a strong player in state budget negotiations.
Speaker DeLeo’s leadership announcement comes about a month after Senate President Stanley Rosenberg made his committee appointments, and according to multiple sources close to the Speaker, he continued to make changes to his roster up until hours before making his appointments public. The Speaker’s selections hint at his position on a number of priorities for the session, which according to public statements, include strengthening public transportation and infrastructure, bolstering early childhood education efforts, and continuing the Commonwealth’s battle against opiate abuse.
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