More and More King Sal

Last week, all of the talk was about Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi's demolition of Governor Deval Patrick's casino plan. He was credited with spearheading the movement against what had been the highest profile piece of the governor's plan to boost the Bay State economy.

In the wake of his defeat, Patrick sent an e-mail Saturday to supporters from his election campaign that didn't mention DiMasi by name but suggested that the process which DiMasi led was stifling and unproductive. Patrick wrote, "Without a full debate ideas go unheard, compromises cannot be reached, and solutions disappear."

Also on Saturday, the Herald reported that six members of the House who had been "previously supporting casinos or voting to legalize slot machines" voted against or missed the vote on Patrick's bill after being given new committee chair positions in late February by DiMasi. A DiMasi spokesperson said that there was no deal made, but the Herald brought up the possibility of political maneuvering: "...DiMasi virtually guaranteed they would back his position because chairmen rarely vote against the speaker."

Finally, today, the Globe reports that Cognos ULC was the biggest sponsor (they gave $10k at least three times) of a charity fundraiser that was held at DiMasi's country club and was close to the Speaker's heart. Cognos was later given a rushed and DiMasi-linked $13 million dollar software contract that the state later canceled. The Globe wrote today that, "Cognos spokesman Steve Milmore would not say why the software company, with US headquarters in Burlington, would support a charity created to honor the memory of a Saugus police officer."

Will any of these stories damage DiMasi? Patrick's criticism of a restricted process can come off like sour grapes, while DiMasi is seen as the smart tactician of politics as warfare. The new committee chair placements were either truly coincidental or a smart and not particularly shady manipulation of the casino vote. But this new wrinkle to the Cognos ordeal could be troublesome for the Speaker if there is any question about the legitimacy of the charity or DiMasi's role in securing the donations.

It seems that King Sal will continue to be the story.