Ashland Democrat Sen. Karen Spilka, the lead budget writer for the Massachusetts Senate, emerged Wednesday from a crowded but fluid field of Democrats interested in becoming the next Senate president.
The announcement comes a full nine months before senators are expected to choose their next leader.
Spilka, the chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, has the support of more than 25 of her current colleagues to succeed Senate President Harriette Chandler, who has said she would give up the position in January 2018, according to sources close to Spilka. One of those Democratic supporters is Sen. Sal DiDomenico, an assistant majority leader from Everett who was one of Spilka's main rivals for the presidency.
"I'm deeply honored by the support I've received from my fellow Senators. I look forward to working collaboratively with Senate President Chandler and my Democratic and Republican colleagues to ensure a smooth transition," Spilka said in a statement to the News Service.
"Senators have made clear that they want certainty in leadership to allow us to focus solely on the vitally important work to be done on behalf of the people at this time. It's time to turn the page and usher in a new era of collaborative leadership in the Senate. We will work with our colleagues in the House and with Governor Baker to ensure the faith of the public is upheld, and our work on behalf of the people of our Commonwealth always work comes first," she said.
DiDomenico met with Spilka on Wednesday and agreed to support her and ask his own supporters to back her candidacy as well. The sit-down took place as it appeared momentum in the contest had begun to swing towards Spilka over the weekend after a bloc of Democrats led by another contender, Sen. Eric Lesser, moved into Spilka's camp with Lesser's endorsement, according to sources familiar with the jockeying.
DiDomenico, who until recently had been vice chair of Ways and Means under Spilka, congratulated her in a statement confirming his support for her to become the next president.
"I look forward to continuing our close working relationship, and I know that she will be a strong leader for our body moving forward and a powerful voice for individuals and families across Massachusetts. I appreciate the support of my colleagues throughout this process, and now it's time for us to come together under Karen's leadership to advance the important business of the Commonwealth," he said.
Spilka also spoke with Chandler on Wednesday, who agreed to support her for president. Senate Democrats have a caucus planned for Thursday, but it's unclear when the transition to Spilka could happen. Chandler said she intends to remain on as Senate president through the end of session, but a vote could still be called at any time, including after July 31 when formal sessions end.
"I spoke with Senator Spilka this afternoon to congratulate her on winning the support of her fellow members. I look forward to serving as President for the remainder of this session, working through our legislative priorities, and ensuring a smooth transition to Senator Spilka for the 2019 session," Chandler said in a statement.
With only seven Republican senators in the Senate, Democrats are not currently at risk of losing their firm grip on leadership of the branch, although all senators will have to survive this year's elections to be seated in 2019, when the next vote to elect a Senate president is currently scheduled.
Spilka arrived in the Senate in 2005 after serving three years in the House. A lawyer who specialized in labor law and mediation, she became the first Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities and later co-chaired of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
Under Senate President Therese Murray, who became the first woman Senate president exactly 11 years ago Wednesday, Spilka rose in the ranks of leadership to become an assistant majority leader before she was tapped by Sen. Stanley Rosenberg to take over the powerful budget-writing committee when he became president in 2015. In 2013, she ran for Congress in a special election to replace U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in the House, but came in fifth in the primary.
Active in economic development and animal protection issues, Spilka emerged a champion last session of legislation she helped draft that would have poured hundreds of millions of new dollars into the state's public education system in the most ambitious education reform proposal since 1993.
The so-called RISE Act stalled in the House two years ago, but the issue of how the state helps cities and towns pay for education continues to simmer.
The race for Senate president has been percolating for months. Sen. Rosenberg relinquished the top leadership post in December after the Senate opened an Ethics Committee investigation into whether the Amherst Democrat violated any Senate rules in connection with the activities of his husband, Bryon Hefner.
Hefner has been accused of sexually harassing men with business before the Legislature and meddling in Senate affairs.
Chandler was initially named interim Senate president with the possibility left open that Rosenberg would be able to return if he was cleared by the investigation, but as new allegations surfaced and his revival became less politically viable, Chandler was named the permanent president through the end of the year. Rosenberg did not return a message left for him Wednesday at his State House office seeking comment.
Because Chandler has said she has no interest in running for president in January when a new two-year term begins, a number of Democrats have been lining up to jockey for votes among their colleages.
Spilka had been joined by DiDomenico of Everett, Sen. John Keenan of Quincy and Lesser of Longmeadow. Lowell Sen. Eileen Donoghue was one of the earliest to express her interest in the post, but she is widely expected to resign to take the city manager job in Lowell, which will be decided later this month.
"I'm very optimistic about the Senate and feel very confident that Karen will be a terrific leader and I think she understands the need to continue to empower new and emerging voices in the caucus and continue to focus on a progressive and reform oriented agenda," Lesser said.
He said he expected Spilka to bring her own style and experience to the office, but expects her to continue to afford all members "a seat at the table" as decisions in the Senate are being made.
Linda Dorcena Forry was also in the mix before the Dorchester Democrat resigned from the Senate to take a job with Suffolk Construction.
Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who had supported Forry for president when she was still in the Senate, said he was one of those senators committed to Spilka.
