Boston Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez to Chair Powerful Budget Panel, Replace Dempsey

FILE – In this July 30, 2010 file photo, State Rep. Brian Dempsey, D-Haverhill, speaks alongside House Speaker Robert DeLeo, right, about an economic development bill at the Statehouse in Boston. Dempsey, chairman of the budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee, announced Thursday, July 13, 2017, he will resign from the Legislature to join a prominent Boston lobbying firm. Dempsey was widely viewed as the most likely candidate to succeed DeLeo when he chooses to retire. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, File)

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo has tapped Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez to head the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

The Boston Democrat succeeds Rep. Brian Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat who announced last week he was leaving the Legislature to join a Boston lobbying firm.

The Ways and Means Committee is responsible for preparing the House version of the annual state budget.

Sanchez was first elected to the House in 2003 and has previously chaired the committees on Public Health and Health Care Financing.

DeLeo lauded Sanchez’s ability to “understand the finer points of policy and translate them into workable solutions.”

The appointment makes Sanchez an immediate contender to eventually succeed DeLeo as speaker.

Dempsey had been widely considered the heir apparent to DeLeo before his surprise decision to step down.

About CapeCod.com NewsCenter

The award-winning CapeCod.com NewsCenter provides the Cape Cod community with a constant, credible source for local news. We are on the job seven days a week.



CapeCod.com
737 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Contact Us | Advertise Terms of Use 
Employment and EEO | Privacy