Deleo likely to keep Belmont, Arlington House seat open

State House News Service

House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Monday told the State House News Service he was leaning against holding special elections in districts spanning Worcester, Belmont, Arlington and Cambridge, keeping open the seats held by Rep. William Brownsberger and Rep. Vincent Pedone for roughly a year.

“Right now, I’d have to say I’m leaning towards not having a special election Pedone or for Brownsberger,” DeLeo said after a meeting with Gov. Deval Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray.

“My gut feeling is that I’m very concerned about folks not having a representative for a period of time. Having said that, I seem to be sort of on the side I think of not putting the cities and towns through the expense,” DeLeo said. “Not that it’s not worth obviously having a state rep, but I think there’s another thing involved here.”

Candidates this fall will run in newly shaped House and Senate districts in the wake of the decennial redistricting process, creating potential special election complications for candidates and voters amid the transition between existing and new districts.

Pedone, chairman of the Committee on Bills in Third Reading, could leave the Legislature as early Friday to begin his new job as executive officer of the Council of Presidents of the Massachusetts State University System, he said Monday. The Worcester Democrat said he is still trying to work out logistics, but would resign within two weeks.

Meanwhile, Brownberger is poised to win election to the state Senate on Tuesday when he is running unopposed for the seat left vacant when Sen. Steven Tolman resigned to take over as president of the AFL-CIO.