He is quintessentially a local product. If he knows you, or knows of you, he’ll start a conversation perhaps by asking you about a local athlete or a noteworthy team that made your area famous.
In this case, Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, a Democrat from Winthrop, wanted to begin the conversation by talking a little bit about the football teams from the early 1980s, coached by Bobby DeFelice, and containing such luminaries such as Steve Staffier, Joe Giaquinto and Chuck Sullivan.
He segued into “Touchdown Tony” Palmer, from a decade later, and wanted to know who the interviewer thought was the better Winthrop football player: Palmer or Staffier?
Needless to stay, DeLeo is a loyal disciple of the Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr. belief that “all politics is local.”
He sees his adherence to that simple philosophy as a big reason why, as of Saturday, Feb. 8, he surpassed Timothy Bigelow — who ascended to the rostrum in 1805 — as the longest-serving speaker in state history, hitting day No. 4,029.
DeLeo became speaker in the middle of the 2009 economic downturn. It was Barack Obama’s first year as president, and both locally and all over the world, there was work to be done to get everybody back on good footing.
DeLeo did nothing different, he said, than he’s ever done in his political life: He listened to his constituents and tried to represent their interests.
“In Winthrop and Revere, I have a great relationship with my constituents,” said DeLeo, who will be 70 in March. “And I have the same type of relationship with my colleagues, and that relationship has lasted for a long time.”
He believes that the habits he learned as a much younger man, running for Town Meeting member in Winthrop, helped forge those relationships.
“When I first ran for office, as a Town Meeting member, I knocked on every door. In addition, on election day, I made a homemade sign saying “Vote for Bob DeLeo.” I stood all by myself from 6:30 in the morning to 8 at night, and I ended up doing very well.”
That taught him a lesson, he said. In subsequent campaigns, he took the same approach.
“Even today, where social media plays such a big role, you have to be active. Go to as many functions as you can. It always amazes people that here’s the Speaker of the House, and he’s got the time to come in and talk about local issues. The old-time aspects of campaigning still ring true for me.”
By the time the position of House Speaker opened up in 2009, upon the resignation of Salvatore DiMasi, he had moved to a position of visibility on the legislature as House Ways and Means Committee chairman. When DiMasi was about to step down, he says a group of colleagues approached him.
“They said they wanted to support me because I sat down and listened to people,” DeLeo said. “And I tried to help.”
DeLeo feels he’s remained true to his lifelong objective of being in the business to help people. He is particularly proud of the Student Opportunity Act, enacted during the 2019-2020 session. It is a $1.5 billion investment in Massachusetts public schools, and Lynn could receive up to an extra $30 million from it.
Among other things he did as a runup to discussions about overhauling school funding was visit Ingalls School in Lynn with members of the city’s legislative delegation.
“It was obvious that we had to make a major investment in our schools,” DeLeo said. “Basically, in Massachusetts, we do well in test scores. But there is a difference in terms of the achievement gap between some of the wealthy communities and, shall we say, not-so-wealthy communities.
“If you’re going to be successful,” he said, “education is the key. I’m really proud of the fact that we were able to get that done.”
Conversely, he said, one of his disappointments is not getting the act together sooner.
“We tried several times, but we just couldn’t get it done,” he said.
Going forward, he said, there is much to be done.
“Transportation is something we’re constantly working on,” he said. “I hear constantly from people like (Mayor Thomas M. McGee) about how vital it is.
“Another huge issue is the effects of climate change,” he said. “What is that going to mean to places such as Lynn and other shoreline communities?”
It goes on. Health costs, prescription drug costs, balanced budgets all occupy his mind, as well as financial stability for the state.
“Right now, we have the most money in our stabilization fund that we’ve ever had,” he said.
And then there’s the humanitarian side of his job. He is a big supporter of the efforts to treat autism, “and one of my biggest thrills was to be able to throw out the first pitch of a Red Sox-Tampa Bay Rays game on behalf of autism support. Those are the things that make you feel good about this business.”
Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].
