House Speaker Robert DeLeo filed an ethics disclosure with the House clerk on Friday indicating that he intended to begin negotiating “prospective employment opportunities” with Northeastern University, confirming what had been speculated on for days and signaling a coming end to his 12-year run atop the House.
The letter does not specify if or when the speaker intends to resign, which would likely depend on the speed and outcome of his talks with his alma mater.
The letter indicates that he asked his personal legal counsel on Dec. 16 to consult with the Ethics Commission on his responsibilities under the conflict of interest law, and said he was filing the disclosure out of “an abundance of caution.” Robert Popeo, an attorney at Mintz Levin, has been a long-time friend and counsel to DeLeo, but it was not immediately clear whether that’s who he was referring to.
DeLeo, 70, earlier this week denied that he has had any direct conversations with Northeastern University about future employment or that he had a deal in place to go work there once he ended his legislative career. He repeated that on Friday.
He also said he knew of no “particular matter or general legislation presently before me in my official role that would affect Northeastern University.”
That last line of the letter immediately sparked questions on Beacon Hill about the future of campus sexual assault legislation, which DeLeo has said he wants to get done before the end of the session on Jan. 5.
Lawmakers and people close to Majority Leader Ron Mariano, 74, have said this week that the Quincy Democrat and top deputy to DeLeo has the votes to succeed the speaker if and when he resigns, but Rep. Russell Holmes, an outspoken critic of DeLeo’s and advocate for diversity, said Friday he would challenge Mariano for the title and stand up against what he described as a “backroom deal” and “structural racism personified.”
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