State House News Service
Monday, December 17, 2001
Bosley turns up heat with his declaration:
"I'd like to be next speaker"
By Michael C. Levenson and Rick Collins
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, DEC. 17, 2001 ... A top member of Speaker
Thomas Finneran's leadership team said flatly on Monday that he wants to be the next speaker of the House and began naming
supportive House lawmakers.
"I'd like to be the next speaker," said Rep. Daniel Bosley
(D-North Adams), a veteran committee chairman. "I think I can bring some things to this institution, some things we don't
have now."
Bosley said there is a "very broad-based and very deep" group of
state representatives unhappy with the way the House is run under Finneran and "there's a lot more people talking"
about ways make changes. Bosley would not say when or if a move might be made to
end Finneran's tenure.
"I'm not sure what the timeline is for that," Bosley said.
Speaking to reporters outside his State House office, Bosley
couched his remarks carefully, saying his discontent with the House is not aimed at making Finneran a "scapegoat" but at
"opening up the process" and including more voices in House deliberations and policymaking.
"Our purpose is to try to work with other members to try to make
sure the House is more democratic," Bosley said, though he added, "I'm not sure rules reform does that."
Bosley began naming likeminded lawmakers, including Reps. Michael
Festa (D-Melrose), Charles Murphy (D-Burlington), Carol Donovan (D-Woburn), and Barry Finegold
(D-Andover). Rep. Douglas Petersen (D-Marblehead) and Rep. James Marzilli
(D-Arlington) also identified themselves as supporters.
Donovan and Festa joined Bosley as he spoke to the press. "Dan
has done some things that are courageous," Festa said. "We all have to search for ways to make changes. Danny is the
personification of a lot of members' feelings."
Bosley hopes that by declaring his desire to be the next speaker,
he will embolden other House members to make public their frustration with House leadership. "People needed
somebody that was not part of the usual critics of the speaker to stand up and
say it's OK."
Bosley added, "There are a lot of people who feel the process
needs to be opened up and there are a lot of people who are willing to go on the record to do that."
Finneran said Monday he has more than enough votes to defeat any
challenger. What lawmakers are expressing is more a reflection of budget cuts made necessary by the
recession and a $1.3 billion budget deficit than any mounting criticism of his stewardship of
the House.
"I've been lucky enough to earn support for many, many years from
all corners and I hope to continue to earn it," Finneran said in downtown Boston, after bell-ringing for the Salvation
Army.
"People want to see continuity and they also understand the
challenges that we have associated with the economy," Finneran said, adding that he is "anxious to hear from
anybody and everybody when it comes to process reforms."
Bosley said Finneran called him Monday and the two were set to
meet privately Monday afternoon to discuss the matter. "I think we need to have a little vetting here," Bosley said.
"The Speaker and I have always been very close and it's not something I do
very lightly but it is something that needs to be done."
Rep. Douglas Petersen (D-Marblehead) said Bosley allies called
him at home Friday night and told him lawmakers were "drafting" Bosley to lead a rules reform effort and that Bosley
would "put himself up" as an aspiring speaker. Petersen told the operative
he would support Bosley and attend upcoming meetings to further the effort.
Roll call votes all year have indicated Finneran enjoys strong
control in the House, on both process and policy questions. Some lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Rep.
Francis Marini (R-Hanson), are dismissing the challenge as a much smaller
movement than Bosley suggests. "It's more like eight [lawmakers] than 81," Marini said. "I see absolutely no
groundswell in the House. I think the newspapers are trying to build up this idea."
Rep. Marie Parente (D-Milford) a staunch Finneran supporter,
agreed. "I think it's personal agendas," she said. "I think it's campaign time. I think it's people who first of all were angry
that they didn't become a chairman." Bosley, she said, should cease his lobbying, and "focus
on the business of the Commonwealth."
Acting Gov. Jane Swift kept out of the fray. "I'm not going to
wade into palace intrigue," she said.
Many House members are upset because high stakes budget talks
dragged on in private for five months this year. And when a deal was reached, most lawmakers voted on it less than
24 hours later without fully realizing the bill's contents. Rowdy protests
followed the budget's passage and lawmakers have since reversed $107 million worth of cuts they made to human
and social services programs. The $22.6 billion budget includes more than $600
million in budget cuts necessitated by imploding tax revenues.
Rep. Christopher Hodgkins (D-Lee), one of Finneran's most
vociferous critics, said lawmakers are having a hard time explaining the thinking behind the cuts to constituents. "It's
hard to go back and explain the reasons why," Hodgkins said. "Not only do we lack
leadership, but our actions look cowardly. People are thoroughly disgusted."
There's "overwhelming support" to oust Finneran, Hodgkins said.
"Whether we can muster up the courage to do so is another thing," he said.
Bosley, 48, is in his seventh term. He co-chairs the Government
Regulations Committee, which oversees energy, gambling, racing, alcohol, and Lottery-related bills. He earned his
bachelor's degree in history and political science from North Adams State
College in 1976 and a master's degree in public policy from UMass-Boston in 1996. He has one child with
his wife, Laura.
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Associated Press
Monday, December 17, 2001
Challenge grows to Finneran's rule in House
By John Mcelhenny
BOSTON (AP) A member of House Speaker Thomas Finneran's
leadership team, citing growing opposition to Finneran's autocratic rule, said on Monday that he should be the one
to replace Finneran.
Rep. Daniel Bosley joined what appeared to be a growing list of
House critics who complain that Finneran has stymied committee chairmen from passing meaningful legislation and stifled
public debate among rank-and-file members.
Bosley, D-North Adams, said the House is now the most
undemocratic it's been in the 16 years he has been there.
"We need to have a cultural change in this building," he said.
"I'd like to be the next speaker."
Several House members who usually support the speaker have
defected to join those who have loudly criticized Finneran for his undemocratic rule, but Finneran, who has been
speaker since 1996, said there weren't enough to oust him.
He blamed the uprising on members' frustration over the budget
cuts that were forced by the weakened economy since Sept. 11 and the decline in state tax revenues.
"It's almost all attributable to the fact that we lost almost a
billion dollars in revenue," Finneran said, adding that members had gotten used to growing budgets in recent years.
Bosley, who as chairman of the Government Regulations Committee
is one of the most powerful members of Finneran's House leadership, said he had no immediate plans to
personally challenge Finneran, but said others could force a vote on the
speaker's ouster.
He met with Finneran on Monday to push reforms, such as giving
power back to committee chairmen and increasing the number of sessions in which rank-and-file members debate
legislation.
Finneran's ouster would require that 81 members of the 160-member
House vote for his removal. A successor would then be chosen by a simple majority of those members who
vote. If he is not challanged in coming months, his position is up for renewal in
Jan. 2003 when the new legislative session begins.
"I think (Bosley) would be an excellent speaker," said Carol
Donovan, D-Woburn.
Donovan said she hoped negotiations with Finneran would allow
changes to make it easier to debate legislation that, under current House practice, often stays bottled up in committee.
She cited as an example a bill to require insurance coverage for women's contraceptives that
had the support of 92 members but never made it to floor debate.
"If we cannot accomplish that by negotiating with the speaker,
then yes, I would vote in favor of vacating the chair," Donovan said.
Donovan said she and others have been polling their colleagues to
gauge their positions. She estimated that if a vote were taken now to oust Finneran, about 30 to 35 would support it.
Another 30 members would vote to oust Finneran if he blocks rule
changes to make the House more democratic, she predicted, and members are working behind the scenes to
boost support still further.
But House Minority Leader Fran Marini, R-Hanson, said there was
no chance that a vote to remove Finneran would pass.
"The number would be closer to eight than 81," he said.
Bosley and others said disgust with the way the House does
business was growing beyond the usual group of 19 or so "progressive" members who often criticize
Finneran.
On Monday, Reps. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, Michael
Festa, D-Melrose, and Charles Murphy, D-Burlington none of them typically Finneran critics all announced their support for
rule changes that would expand control beyond Finneran's inner circle and provide more
chances for debates.
"The majority of House members are unhappy with the way this
House is being run," said Finegold.
Some members cited as the source of their discontent Finneran's
handling of the budget, a 200-page document that was made available to members at midnight, nine hours before
debate began on the day before Thanksgiving.
Others cited discontent among constituents who had criticized
them for not standing up to Finneran when he blocked funding for campaign finance reform which voters approved in
1998.
But standing up to an incumbent speaker carries risks. The
speaker chooses members to fill chairmanships and vice-chairmanships, which pay up to $15,000 and help members pass
legislation to benefit their districts.
Finneran said he would not seek retribution against Bosley or
others who speak out against him.
Murphy said pushing for reform was worth the risk of losing his
vice chairmanship of the Criminal Justice Committee.
"If leadership wants to do something to me because I stand up,
bring it on," he said.
But Marini, the Republican leader, sounded a warning. "I don't
think it would be wise to try to assassinate the king unless you're sure you can get the job done," he said.
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The Boston Globe
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
Finneran tries to calm the storm
By Frank Phillips
Globe Staff
As the House roiled with talk of revolt, House Speaker Thomas M.
Finneran yesterday moved to quell an insurgency, shoring up his support among loyalists and confronting the
leader of the dissidents, Representative Daniel E. Bosley.
Finneran last night called Bosley, chairman of the Government
Regulations Committee, to his office, following Globe reports over the weekend that a broad-based group of members is
seeking changes in the way the House operates -- and possibly a change in
leadership.
Bosley, of North Adams, went into the meeting saying he wanted to
be the next speaker, although he said he was not mounting an immediate challenge to
Finneran.
"There are some things about this institution that are just not
right, and there are things that have to change," Bosley said.
Bosley said he and the other rebels are seeking concessions from
Finneran as to how the House operates, asking that legislators be given a real role in shaping legislation. He said the
discontent among members is "very deep."
Earlier in the day, Finneran sought to downplay the discontent,
saying the opposition represented a fraction of his Democratic colleagues. He said the talk by some members
about confronting him was simply the result of a difficult budget process in which
lawmakers had to slash programs for the first time in years.
"My sense is that it's just some of the aftermath and retreats we
had to make from the budget," Finneran said. "It might also be a legitimate desire to make further contributions to
improve the process."
The dissidents seem somewhat divided among themselves, with some,
like Representative James Marzilli of Arlington, calling for toppling Finneran, and others appearing open to
keeping the speaker if rules are changed to open up the legislative process
and allow more debate.
Finneran, who has in the past punished people for crossing him,
insisted yesterday he would not retaliate against Bosley or others who are now demanding that he either change his
leadership style or face removal.
"There never has been and there never will be" retribution
against Bosley or any of the other critics, Finneran said. "That's not the way any speaker or legislative leader can
operate."
Some additional House Democrats, such as Representative Charles
A. Murphy of Burlington and Barry Finegold of Andover, who have not been identified as anti-Finneran in the past,
emerged publicly yesterday to criticize Finneran. They said the speaker
is facing as many as four dozen members who would vote in favor of a motion to oust him, a significant number,
but far short of the 81 needed. They would not release their names.
"He may have the votes to quash a motion to vacate the office,
but if he continues on the same course, I don't know what the future holds for him," Finegold said.
Murphy, a self-described moderate, disputed the attempt by
Finneran and his aides to paint the dissidents as the usual disaffected liberals who have consistently opposed the speaker.
He also rejected the assertion that the unrest was set off by budget cuts. "This is not just a
progressive movement and it is not a budget issue," he said. "It's an issue that has been
percolating under the surface for some time."
Representative Carol S. Donovan, a Democrat from Woburn and
longtime Finneran critic who spent the weekend canvassing her colleagues, said, by her count, at least 60 members
of the 137-member Democratic caucus are ready to challenge Finneran and
demand changes.
If the dissidents mount a serious challenge, the 21-member
Republican caucus could hold the key to its success or failure. Yesterday, House Minority Leader Francis Marini of Hanson
gave little credence to the uprising, saying it was a dispute among Democrats and that the
GOP would not get involved. The GOP members banded together in 1996 to make
Finneran speaker, as Democrats split in the leadership struggle.
"This isn't a Republican fight; it is up to them [the Democrats]
and we are going to keep our powder dry," said Marini, noting that some of the dissidents had approached him. "We don't
think they have the votes. I think they have closer to eight than 81. We don't think this is the
right time or place to get involved."
Acting Governor Jane Swift, who has been highly critical of the
budget process this year, also refused to get involved, saying she is advising the Republicans to remain out of the fight.
"There is a lot of palace intrigue in this building and I am not going to wade into that," Swift
said.
The unrest in the House became public Saturday, when the Globe
reported that frustration among Democratic members was erupting, and they were coalescing around Bosley as a
potential challenger to Finneran.
The speaker has easily crushed past rebellions, but the number of
lawmakers speaking out unnerved some in his inner circle.
The unhappy members contend Finneran has run roughshod over them
in recent years and damaged the public image of the House. Many are taking heat from constituents over his
refusal to allow funding for the voter-approved Clean Elections law, and his
support for hidden budget riders, such as the one that stripped judges of the power to hire probation
officers. Critics also complained that he used redistricting to punish his political
enemies.
Earlier, Finneran created a political problem for his members
when his lieutenants engineered a rules change that lifted the eight-year term limit on the speaker's tenure. He has also kept
scores of bills bottled up despite promises that they would reach the House floor for a vote.
Bosley, saying he had been approached by colleagues recently and
asked to head up their cause, insisted the movement is broad-based. He said he is not pushing to oust Finneran in
January, as some have suggested, nor has he counted votes for such a move.
"I think a lot of people are uncomfortable," Bosley said. "Some
are afraid ... because they are going to have to take some very tough positions."
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The Boston Globe
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
In Dedham, speaker's ally faces challengers
By Ralph Ranalli
Globe Staff
DEDHAM -- Selectman Robert Coughlin still remembers the feel of
his run for office in 1990, when an eruption of voter discontent fueled by fiscal crisis and recession swept large
numbers of incumbents out of the State House.
It was a sense, he said, that something big was happening.
That same feeling now has him taking an even bolder step --
challenging a top member of Speaker Thomas Finneran's leadership team for her Massachusetts House seat.
And Coughlin is not alone.
Democratic Representative Maryanne Lewis, the House floor
division chairwoman who has run unopposed since being elected five years ago, is now facing not one, but three opponents
hoping to seize on voter discontent with Finneran's iron-fisted rule and
the state's budget woes.
"I'm getting the exact same feeling as that year [1990]," said
Coughlin. "It's time for a change."
Stocked with a diverse demographic that includes everyone from
lunchpail Democrats to yuppie independents to white-shoe Republicans, the 11th Norfolk District -- encompassing
Dedham and Westwood, plus a recently-added affluent slice of Walpole -- may
be a disturbing bellwether for Finneran and his loyalists on Beacon Hill.
Lewis's clout and perceived closeness to Finneran -- she was his
choice for inspector general earlier this year, and he once gave her a raise and the vaguely-defined job as floor division
chair -- used to fend off challengers. Now it appears to be attracting
them.
Though Couglin is careful to say he is running "against Lewis,
not Finneran," he admits hoping to ride the wave of discontent expressed by a potential supporter yesterday at Mocha Java,
a cappuccino bar in Dedham Square.
After a handshake and a "Congratulations, Bobby," Dedham realtor
Jay Donahue didn't mince words about what would drive his vote next November.
"I think people who are paying attention are tired of Finneran's
clamp on things," said Donahue, a 38-year-old registered independent. "We just want an open, honest debate.
We're tired of opening the paper and reading that a budget was passed late at
night with no discussion."
"And we're tired of the people who keep signing off on that," he
said. "She [Lewis] is endemic of what Mr. Finneran has been doing."
One of Lewis's two declared Republican opponents, Dedham Town
Meeting member Joe Pascarella, was even more blunt.
"She is a sheep; she is part of the flock," said Pascarella, an
executive and fund-raiser for the Boy Scouts of America's Boston Minuteman Council. "She is a lieutenant of Finneran's and
whatever Tommy Finneran wants, Tommy gets."
"People are unhappy with him, but more so they are unhappy with
legislative leaders for not standing up to him," the 31-year-old Pascarella said.
Lewis, through her staff, declined comment yesterday.
Her supporters in town said yesterday that they believe the
little things she does -- the way she buys dozens of pecan and chocolate cream pies to give out during the holidays and her
tireless record of appearing at public functions -- will continue to stand her in good stead.
"It all depends on what you look at," said Kathleen McNeely, the
owner of Kathleen's Kitchen, a popular local coffee shop. "She's in a tough position, but I think she'll do well."
But one of McNeely's regular customers, an insurance agent from
around the corner named Paul D'Attilio, said there has been some grumbling around Dedham Square at the lack of
state investment in the very heart of Lewis's district.
For years, there has been talk of rebuilding the county Probate
Court and Registry of Deeds that bring workers into the square. Instead, other agencies, such at the Norfolk County
district attorney's office, have left for other parts of Dedham and taken
their workers with them.
"There is a feeling of state neglect," said
D'Attilio.
McNeely, however, said there is a bright side. Her wood-paneled
eatery is buzzing with political energy since the challenges to Lewis were declared.
"We haven't seen a race like this in a long time," she said.
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The Boston Herald
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
Finneran rival backs down:
Bosley says he will not attempt to oust speaker
by Elisabeth J. Beardsley
State Rep. Daniel E. Bosley backed away from rumors of imminent
revolution yesterday -- saying he doesn't want to go head-to-head against Speaker Thomas M. Finneran despite a
desire to lead the House some day.
Citing high frustration among rank-and-file members after this
year's protracted budget deliberations, the North Adams Democrat freely acknowledged he would like to take over
after Finneran.
But rather than a frontal assault on Finneran, Bosley said he
would try to win concessions such as more time to consider the budget and greater power for committee chairmen -- of
which he is one.
"We're not counting noses to challenge the speaker in 2002,"
Bosley said. "I'm trying to change the process."
The open ambition from Bosley -- who has come under periodic fire
for his coziness with lobbyists and his penchant for worldwide junketeering -- could be dangerous in a House
where Finneran has a reputation for dealing harshly with critics and rivals.
In the past year, former Majority Leader William P. Nagle Jr.
(D-Northampton) and former Ways and Means Chairman Paul R. Haley (D-Weymouth) each began quietly gathering
support for a run at the speakership.
In both cases, Finneran quickly made legislative life so
unpleasant that Haley and Nagle both left the Legislature.
Choosing his words carefully, Bosley said he would not personally
demand Finneran's ouster. But such a call could still originate among a small band of vocal liberals who disagree
with Finneran's policies.
Rep. Douglas W. Petersen (D-Marblehead), who was stripped of his
committee chairmanship after criticizing Finneran over clean elections, claimed the discontent has spread
beyond the usual "silly little band."
Disaffected members may forge ahead and petition to remove
Finneran, which would require majority support from the House's 160 members, Petersen said. "It's not a happy House," he
said.
The anti-Finneran dissidents claim to have between 40 and 50
supporters. But beyond the usual critics, Bosley would only name a few new faces -- Reps. Charles A. Murphy
(D-Burlington), Michael Festa (D-Melrose) and Barry R. Finegold (D-Andover). All
are backbenchers.
Finneran allies scoffed at the dissidents' claim of strong
numbers. "I don't even believe there's a fraction of that," said Majority Leader Sal DiMasi (D-Boston).
Republicans, who crossed party lines to swing the 1996 speaker
vote to Finneran, also rushed to spin on his behalf. "These people don't have the courage to vote against a bill, let
alone vote him out of office," said House Minority Leader Francis L. Marini (R-Hanson).
Finneran dismissed the dust-up as a few liberals who felt
thwarted after their spending plans fell victim to the economic crash. "Prosperity's easy to handle," Finneran said. "Scarcity is
not."
Many lawmakers argued they need Finneran's experience dealing
with a recession economy.
"Anyone can sail on a calm sea," said Rep. James H. Fagan
(D-Taunton). "You need someone who knows what they're doing when the sailing gets rough."
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The MetroWest Daily News
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
Editorial
A challenge to Finneran?
In the wake of a legislative session as unproductive and
unpopular as most current state representatives have ever seen, it's not surprising that there would be talk of rebellion in the
ranks.
What will be surprising is whether House members, whose muscles
have atrophied through years of ceding their power to Speaker Tom
Finneran, can find the strength to turn the talk into action.
Finneran's style is visible in the legislative record, which for
this year is nearly invisible. There were only 22 formal House sessions this year, down 60 percent over the last five years. The
number of laws passed by the Legislature is down from 487 in [?] to 140 this year, only 15
of which could be considered substantive. The House is meeting less often, debating fewer
issues, and legislating less than any time in recent memory.
The most maddening of the substantive acts taken this year by the
House was going along with Finneran's move to strangle the Clean Elections campaign finance reform law in its
cradle. That undoing of the public's will has aroused voter ire from Pittsfield to
Provincetown.
House members themselves are said to be most upset over
Finneran's handling of the budget, and with good reason. They waited five months to see a proposed budget, then had less than
a day to study it. Only after they voted for it did some Democrats learn of the harsh cuts to
human services it proposed. Many of those cuts were unnecessary, House leaders admitted
after a Republican governor pointed out accounts that could bear reduction with less pain.
As a result, House Democrats have had to defend a poorly-drafted
budget they had no hand in writing and a record of non-accomplishment in every other area of public interest. If
they aren't mad at their leadership, you have to wonder why not.
The question is whether they'll do anything about it. There may
be a process of self-selection at work in the House, scaring off public servants who don't want to subjugate their own
agendas for Finneran's. In Finneran's House, the perks come only to those who
can live with the powerlessness the speaker imposes.
Finneran shrugs off talk of a challenge to his reign, and his
skepticism is warranted. This is the same body, after all, that voted less than a year ago to lift the term limits that would
have forced Finneran to give up the gavel in 2002.
But even if the opponents can't come up with the 80 votes needed
to oust Finneran, two good things could come from the rebellion: Finneran could be pressured to agree to reforms
that would open up the budget process, and voters could get the chance to see how
their representatives stand on standing up to Finneran's one-man rule. This last may be all they
need to know before casting their votes in the next House election.
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The Boston Globe
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
Bosley's record holds little to suggest rebel
By Stephanie Ebbert
Globe Staff
He is distinguished by his stature, a bright-eyed Santa Claus of
a man who helped bring home goodies like the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art to his North Adams
district and traveled around the country on his campaign tab.
He has played the role of regular guy, not reformer -- pushing
for a bill to let people drink beer in bowling alleys and once singing "Danny Boy" and "My Wild Irish Rose" on a
good-will journey to France.
So Representative Daniel E. Bosley seems an unlikely renegade to
take on House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran, who bestowed upon him a leadership post, but who has increasingly
marginalized members and leaders alike.
Right now on Beacon Hill, people aren't sure what to make of
Bosley, who declared yesterday he would like to be the next speaker.
On the one hand, Bosley was the only member of Finneran's
leadership team to back the Clean Elections campaign-finance change that the speaker adamantly resisted.
On the other, just last month, he was named by the Massachusetts
Money and Politics Project as one of 10 House leaders who racked up $2.6 million in campaign funds and spent
much of it on meals, trips, and gifts. And his socializing with racetrack lobbyist
Thomas Cremin makes some critics uneasy.
"Two years ago, we would have viewed him as part of leadership,"
said George Pillsbury, director of the Project. But Pillsbury credited Bosley for now challenging the status quo. "It's
a total shift," he said.
Bosley, who portends an insurrection next year if the speaker
does not relax his iron grip on the House, said it is not personal.
"I don't dislike Tommy Finneran. I think he's a bright guy. I
think he's very articulate," Bosley said, leaning back in his chair, dressed in a plaid shirt and khakis.
Bosley's own job has been giving him unease for about a year and
a half, as the speaker increasingly took control of House affairs, said longtime friend, North Adams Mayor John
Barrett III.
"He's one of those representatives that take things very
seriously," said Barrett. "He's very frustrated."
Bosley supported Finneran for speaker in 1996, and had hoped to
be named chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. But Finneran passed him over twice, making him chairman of
the Government Regulations committee. Since then, Bosley has labored on some
arcane and some unpopular legislation -- electricity deregulation, and a financial assistance package for
horse racing, for instance.
"He always felt he was the only one who carried water for the
speaker," said Barrett. "He's not a revolutionary. He was a good soldier. He worked hard. He supported the speaker."
Unlike many legislators, Bosley does not hold a second job
outside Beacon Hill. Nor does he stockpile an outsized warchest of money, having been challenged only once in 14 years.
Bosley, 48, is a former North Adams city councilor, and he and
his wife, Laura, have one child. He was director of a community development corporation, who helped found the
North Berkshire Social Services Coalition, which located the first homeless
shelter in the region. At the time, Sprague Electric was going out of business and a company town was
losing its lifeblood, said Al Beshevkin, now the coalition's director.
"He also has a great sense of what's right and what's not right,"
Beshevkin said of Bosley. "Dan is not someone who will sit back and not act on what he thinks is not right."
Bosley said that after the Globe reported that a challenge was in
the making, his phone rang all weekend, with constituents and legislators urging him to pressure Finneran. He took the
calls on a headset while he decorated his Christmas tree, he said.
Asked about potential retribution, he said mischievously, "That
doesn't happen here, does it?" -- then said his chairmanship may not mean as much as it once did, since the power of
individual chairmen diminished under Finneran's tutelage.
Though he had not talked to the speaker in weeks, he said, their
relationship has ebbed and flowed over time. There is no animosity, he maintains, but a nagging sense among him and
other members that they must reform a system that kept most of them ignorant of the
budget's contents until an 11th hour vote was taken.
About all the sudden attention surrounding him, he said: "I like
to think that's because I'm brilliant and garrulous and well-thought of and a hell of a dancer. But I think that some of
it is that people have been looking for somebody to stand up and say there is an alternative here.
And the alternative is, we don't have to do business like this."
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