Bob Deleo — One Of A Kind

For those of us who have known Bob DeLeo from his days as a youth growing up in Winthrop, it was evident that Bob stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries.

Bob conveyed a sense of purpose and honesty in everything he did and possessed a maturity and wisdom beyond his years that set him apart from others. Those qualities soon became apparent  when he first was elected to the Board of Selectman more than 30 years ago. What also became clear during Bob’s years on the board is that he naturally gravitated toward the realm of public service. His desire to help people, and especially to give back to his home town, placed him in that small realm of individuals who are called upon to make life better for others.

It was both a fitting and a natural progression therefore, for Bob to be elected to the House of Representatives and then to attain the lofty position of Speaker of the House. His integrity, experience, and dedication to the high office he attained made him the logical choice for the job after a succession of speakers whose pomposity and self-interest had given politics a bad name.

We will leave to others to list the many accomplishments that Bob has achieved during his tenure as our State Representative and Speaker of the House, but suffice to say that there is no one since Winthrop’s founding in 1852 who has accomplished more for our town than Bob DeLeo.

We know we join with every Winthrop resident in feeling a deep sense of pride whenever we see Bob, one of our own, on TV, explaining this or that about some piece of legislation to the media. His ability to speak plainly and with common sense, a trait he honed while serving as our selectman, makes him unique among the typical political types on Beacon Hill.

Bob’s selection as the Sun-Transcript’s Man of the Year was an easy choice to make — and in our small way, provides us with an opportunity to thank him for his four decades of dedication to the town we all love.