Commonwealth Report Legislators Method

House · Democrat

Theodore C. Speliotis

Former member, served 2015–2020 in the sessions covered here · 13th Essex

Data through FY2026; built October 19, 2026.

Residence

Danvers

First elected

House 1978

Prior public offices

Town Meeting Member (1972); Danvers Town Moderator (1987-1995)

Occupation

Legislator

Left office

did not seek reelection in 2020 (not a candidate in the 2020 primary or general election for this seat); term ended January 6, 2021

Seats held, General Courts 189–194 (the FY2017–FY2026 budgets)
SessionChamberDistrictLinesNote
189th (2015–16)House13th Essex2011 lines
190th (2017–18)House13th Essex2011 lines
191st (2019–20)House13th Essex2011 lines

Posts and stipends

Theodore C. Speliotis was paid $132,492 in leadership and committee stipends from 2016 to 2020.

Posts and stipends by session (stipends by calendar year)
SessionPostsFirst yearSecond year
189th (2015–16)Chair, House Committee on Bills in the Third Readingnot available$7,500
190th (2017–18)Chair, House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading$30,000$30,000
191st (2019–20)Chair, House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading$32,496$32,496

Posts: the Legislature’s leadership and roster records as compiled for this project; where those name no post, the member’s committee chair, vice-chair and ranking roles from the Legislature’s member profiles. Stipends: additional compensation in the Comptroller’s payroll data (CTHRU dataset 9ttk-7vz6), 2016–2026; 2026 is the year to date. Stipends for 2015 are not available. Base salary is not included.

The district

13th Essex on its 2011 lines: 3 cities and towns, 44,879 residents (2020).

Danvers · Peabody · Middleton

Percentages are each place’s share of the district’s 2020 residents; for a town split between districts, the share of the town inside this one follows.

Population-weighted Fairness Index of the district’s cities and towns: 32 for all state aid and 20 for discretionary money (50 is a fair share).

Local earmarks are counted three ways. District money uses the first, clauses that name a place in the district; the second table adds organizations located in the district (placed in the district) and state facilities located there (everything placed). Three ways to count a local earmark.

District money, first measure: enacted earmarks in clauses naming a place in the district, by session (district money, not the member’s)
SessionDistrictDollarsIn corrective clausesPer resident per budget, rankWithout corrective clauses, rank
189th (2015–16)13th Essex$136,000$0$3.03 · 71st of 160$3.03 · 71st of 160
190th (2017–18)13th Essex$191,000$0$2.13 · 125th of 160$2.13 · 125th of 160
191st (2019–20)13th Essex$161,000$0$1.80 · 132nd of 160$1.80 · 132nd of 160

District money is where enacted earmarks land, by the place a clause names, mapped to districts by 2020 population; it is not attributed to the member and does not include leadership’s base-text money that names no place. Ranks are of district money per resident among the chamber’s districts, 1 = most. “In corrective clauses” is the part carried by a Ways and Means chair’s corrective amendments, which is leadership’s money; the last column gives the per-resident figure and rank without it. Sessions are labeled by the General Court that enacted each budget. Per-resident figures use the district as drawn for each session (2011 lines through the 192nd General Court, 2021 lines from the 193rd), so they will not equal a session’s dollars divided by the resident count above.

The same district on the other two measures, by session (enacted; includes any corrective-clause money)
SessionDistrictPlaced in the districtPer resident per budget, rankEverything placedPer resident per budget, rank
189th (2015–16)13th Essex$136,000$3.03 · 89th of 160$136,000$3.03 · 91st of 160
190th (2017–18)13th Essex$291,000$3.24 · 113th of 160$291,000$3.24 · 118th of 160
191st (2019–20)13th Essex$161,000$1.80 · 144th of 160$161,000$1.80 · 145th of 160

Budget amendments

Theodore C. Speliotis sponsored 12 budget amendments in FY2017–FY2026, asking for $103 million in all.

Amendments sponsored

12

FY2017–FY2026 budgets

Adopted, known outcomes

75%

3 of 4

Chamber rate, same ask sizes

46%

expected at the chamber’s rates

Of the four with a known outcome, three were adopted (75%). At the chamber’s adoption rate for amendments of the same size, about two (46%) would have been.

No enacted item is strongly matched to an amendment this member filed.

Strong matches: 0 enacted items, $0 (the member’s share where several amendments claim one clause). House attribution is inferred throughout, because the House adopts most amendments inside consolidated amendments.

3 outcomes are inferred by matching amendment text to the House’s consolidated amendments, because the House records most amendments only as “Consolidated A–G.” Ask size is the larger of the earmark dollars and the line-item change an amendment requests; bands: no dollar amount, under $50,000, $50,000–$250,000, $250,000–$1 million, $1–5 million, $5 million or more. Leadership’s unattributed base-text and corrective-amendment money is never assigned to a member. The comparison describes outcomes; it is not a measure of merit.

Bills sponsored

Theodore C. Speliotis filed 222 bills as lead sponsor in these sessions; 100 were enacted on their own. In completed sessions, 45% of their lead bills were enacted on their own, against chamber medians of 4% to 7% for the same sessions.

Most bills die in every legislature, and many policies pass inside other bills; the chamber median for the same session is the fair comparison.

Bills filed as lead sponsor, by session and outcome
SessionChamberLead billsEnactedFolded into an enacted billSent to studyReported favorably, then diedReported adversely or withdrawnNo actionEnacted rateChamber medianCosponsored
189th (2015–16)House6124021130339%6%67
190th (2017–18)House7436019170249%7%24
191st (2019–20)House87401211211246%4%15

Enacted bills as lead sponsor

Show all 100

Outcomes are the furthest point each bill reached in the record. “Folded into an enacted bill” means the history names the enacted bill that absorbed it. “Passed both branches; no chapter recorded” means the bill was enacted by both branches and laid before the Governor, with no chapter or veto in the history; in the 194th General Court such bills are shown as laid before the Governor (pending). The 194th General Court is in session until January 2027, so its open bills are pending, not dead, and its rates (*) are not comparable with completed sessions. Chairs and leaders control the calendar, which raises their rates. Source: malegislature.gov bill histories.

Recorded votes on accountability measures

Theodore C. Speliotis cast 46 yes-or-no votes on the 46 accountability roll calls in this file (seven yes, 39 no).

Roll calls on rules, audits, public records, term limits and pay
DateMeasureVoteChamber result
January 25, 2017Recommit the 2017 pay-raise bill (H.58) to Ways and MeansNoYeas 35, nays 125
January 25, 2017Amd 3 (Lyons): legislators' raise not effective until next General CourtNoYeas 40, nays 120
January 25, 2017Amd 5 (Lyons): cap the increases at 4%NoYeas 36, nays 124
January 25, 2017Engrossment of the pay-raise bill (stipend increases)YesYeas 116, nays 44
January 26, 2017Enactment of the pay-raise billYesYeas 116, nays 43
February 2, 2017Override of Gov. Baker's veto of the pay-raise billYesYeas 116, nays 43
February 2, 2017Amendment 1.0 (Geoff Diehl): Text of the proposed House amendment (Representative Diehl) to the House Bill relative to Rank and File (House, No. 2017)NoYeas 34, nays 124
February 2, 2017Sustain the Chair's ruling (point of order, Mr. Mark) against Diehl amd 2, Speaker term limitsYesYeas 123, nays 33
February 2, 2017Amendment 3.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): 24 Hour Time Frame for Bills to Be Acted OnNoYeas 35, nays 124
February 2, 2017Amendment 4.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Access to InformationNoYeas 35, nays 124
February 2, 2017Amendment 9.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Emergency Scheduling of HearingsNoYeas 38, nays 121
February 2, 2017Amendment 10.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Equal Representation on Ethics CommitteeNoYeas 35, nays 124
February 2, 2017Amendment 15.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): InoculatorsNoYeas 37, nays 122
February 2, 2017Amendment 16.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Local Aid ResolutionNoYeas 38, nays 121
February 2, 2017Amendment 27.0 (James J. Lyons, Jr.): Defining and Limiting Informal SessionNoYeas 34, nays 124
February 2, 2017Amendment 20.0 (Shaunna L. O'Connell): Public access to House financial accounts auditsNoYeas 34, nays 125
February 2, 2017Amendment 21.0 (Shaunna L. O'Connell): Public access to committee votesNoYeas 41, nays 118
February 2, 2017Amendment 5.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Local Aid ResolutionNoYeas 37, nays 122
February 2, 2017Amendment 11.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Committee Roll Calls on WebsiteNoYeas 38, nays 121
February 2, 2017Amendment 13.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Reports of Conference Filing DeadlineNoYeas 37, nays 122
February 2, 2017Amendment 14.0 (Shaunna L. O'Connell): Public access to committee votesNoYeas 38, nays 121
January 30, 2019Amendment 1.0 (Jonathan Hecht): Time to review billsNoYeas 55, nays 103
January 30, 2019Amendment 2.0 (Jonathan Hecht): Time to review amendmentsNoYeas 47, nays 111
January 30, 2019Amendment 3.0 (Jonathan Hecht): Committee materials and votesNoYeas 49, nays 109
January 30, 2019Collective bargaining for House employees (curb on leadership control of staff); not a disclosure/power-of-leadership rule in the narrow sense (contested meaning)NoYeas 9, nays 149
January 30, 2019Amendment 11.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Access to InformationNoYeas 40, nays 118
January 30, 2019Amendment 12.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Emergency Scheduling of HearingsNoYeas 35, nays 123
January 30, 2019Amendment 14.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Committee Polls – 2 HoursNoYeas 44, nays 114
January 30, 2019Amendment 16.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): House AuditsNoYeas 35, nays 123
January 30, 2019Amendment 17.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): HWM Reports on BillsNoYeas 33, nays 125
January 30, 2019Amendment 19.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Local Aid ResolutionNoYeas 32, nays 126
January 30, 2019Amendment 20.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Review of Consolidated AmendmentsNoYeas 32, nays 125
January 30, 2019Amendment 22.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Committee Votes on WebsiteNoYeas 44, nays 113
January 30, 2019Fingerprint remote voting from committee rooms (contested meaning)NoYeas 32, nays 125
January 30, 2019Amendment 25.0 (Marc T. Lombardo): Matters considered in an informal sessionNoYeas 32, nays 125
January 30, 2019Amendment 31.0 (John H. Rogers): Relative to Rule 18CNoYeas 43, nays 113
January 30, 2019Amendment 32.0 (Patrick Joseph Kearney): relative to Rule 100 ( c ) 3NoYeas 5, nays 152
January 30, 2019Amendment 33.0 (Patrick Joseph Kearney): relative to Rule 20A and Rule 33ANoYeas 5, nays 152
January 30, 2019Equitable office space (leadership allocates offices) (contested meaning)NoYeas 11, nays 146
January 30, 2019Amendment 38.0 (Denise Provost): To assure adequate time to prepare and file amendmentsNoYeas 44, nays 113
January 30, 2019Amendment 41.0 (Russell E. Holmes): Equal Pay Amendment IINoYeas 5, nays 152
January 30, 2019House rules (H2019), rules package: on adoption of the order (contested meaning)YesYeas 125, nays 32
January 30, 2019Conference-committee appointment deadline; adopted 157-0 (contested meaning)YesYeas 157, nays 0
January 30, 2019Amendment 11.0 (Bradley H. Jones, Jr.): Committee Roll Calls on WebsiteNoYeas 47, nays 110
January 30, 2019Amendment 12.0 (Marc T. Lombardo): Informal SessionNoYeas 36, nays 121
January 30, 2019Joint rules (H2021), rules package: on adoption of the order (contested meaning)YesYeas 157, nays 0

Votes marked “contested meaning” are rules-package and public-records passage votes; reform advocates were on both sides of them. Descriptions are the project’s plain summaries of each question, or the question as recorded for rules-package roll calls; the official record is on malegislature.gov. Votes are facts; no score is computed.

Campaign money in

Theodore C. Speliotis’s committee reported $56,000 in contributions of $250 or more in years the member served, 2015–2020.

By year (years in the Legislature)
YearContributions
2015$4,950
2016$20,000
2017$5,250
2018$21,000
2019$4,450
2020$500
By kind of contributor
KindTotalShare
Political committees and PACs$29,00052%
Individuals$25,00044%
Unions and associations$2,2004%
Individuals’ money by the employer they reported
Employer reportedShare
A named employer80%
Self-employed14%
Retired3%
Not reported or withheld3%

Not counted as contributions: $6,598 in other receipts of $250 or more in the same years (candidate loans and the candidate’s own money, transfers, refunds, bank interest and aggregated small receipts).

Largest employers and organizations
Employer or organizationKindTotalContributions
MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEEcommittee or PAC$3,4182
TOTAL WINE AND MOREindividuals, by employer$3,0003
MA & NORTHERN NE LABORERS' DISTRICT COUNCIL POL ACTION COMMcommittee or PAC$2,0004
PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS OF MA PEOPLE'S CTTEEcommittee or PAC$2,0004
STATE POLICE ASSOC OF MASS POL ACTION COMMcommittee or PAC$2,0004
MA ASSOC OF REALTORS POL ACTION COMM - MA RPACcommittee or PAC$1,6004
1199 SEIU MA PACcommittee or PAC$1,5003
NEW CAR DEALER POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEEcommittee or PAC$1,5003
BEER DISTRIBUTORS' PACcommittee or PAC$1,5003
COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTINGindividuals, by employer$1,5003

Source: Office of Campaign and Political Finance, itemized receipts of $250 or more since 2015; OCPF filer record: Speliotis Committee (CPF 10403). Individuals are grouped by the employer they reported; no individual contributor is named, and an employer field that is a person’s name is withheld. Massachusetts bars business contributions to candidates. Employer shows affiliation, not instruction.

Sources

Every figure traces to a public record.

Facts only: posts, stipends, sponsored amendments, enacted items, roll-call votes and district money. No score or grade is computed. Associations shown here are not evidence of cause. Method.