BOSTON (AP) — State Rep. Jennifer Callahan's allegation that a male colleague approached her during a recent budget debate and said "I could really hurt you if I wanted to," is quickly turning into a political Rorschach test.
Some see a naked threat in the language, allegedly made by a fellow lawmaker upset with comments Callahan had made earlier in the week, while others see it as part of the rough and tumble of Beacon Hill, where wheeling and dealing can come with a tough edge.
Either way, Callahan's decision to take her complaint public has lifted the curtain on the not always genteel world of Statehouse politics.
House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi this week referred the incident to the House Ethics Committee, a move that effectively bars members from talking about it.
But veteran Statehouse observers say the allegation reflects a long-established Statehouse pattern of reward and retribution, particularly in the House.
It's the bluntness of the language that raised eyebrows on and off Beacon Hill.
State Rep. Ruth Balser said she'd never been on the receiving end of the kind of threat Callahan described, but called it a "serious allegation" that shouldn't be swept under the rug.
"A member of the House of Representatives made an allegation and the speaker responded quickly," Balser said. "As far as I know this is an isolated incident. I've not had an experience like that."
If the allegation is found to be true, any punishment that might be meted out could hinge on the interpretation of what was said — whether it was a physical or psychological threat, or political arm-twisting.
Political threats are par for the course at the Statehouse, said Tobe Berkovitz, interim dean of Boston University's College of Communication.
"If it's true, is it a threat that is acceptable in Beacon Hill politics or is it a threat that goes beyond that?" Berkovitz said. "To tell someone 'I could hurt you' in a political context is standard operating procedure ... you can lose a committee position, your office, the perks that people on Beacon Hill live for."
DiMasi's predecessor, former House Speaker Tom Finneran, wasn't shy about using the system of perks and punishment.
During his eight-year tenure, Finneran was quick to isolate critics — assigning them to obscure committee or cramped offices — and rewarding supporters with committee chairmanships with added pay.
While tempers can sometimes flare during debates, for the most part what goes on at the Statehouse stays within certain bounds, according to Rep. Jay Kaufman, D-Lexington.
Still there's no way to drain politics out of the Statehouse, where there are real winners and losers, he added.
"This is not for the feint of heart," Kaufman said. "If this was a debating society with nothing but the intellectual quality of the ideas at stake, it would be the academy, not the government."
The allegation surfaced Friday when Callahan, a registered nurse and former member of the Sutton Board of Selectmen and School Committee, began talking about an amendment to add money to a program providing palliative care for children with severe and fatal illnesses.
Callahan then said she wanted to "talk just briefly about something I am not proud of."
The three-term Democrat said she was approached by a male colleague who was upset with comments she had made earlier in the week about the request for extra funding.
"He leveled his eyes at me and he said, 'I've been in this building for a long time, Jen,' and, 'I wanted you to know that I could make things real difficult for you. I mean, Jen, I could really hurt you if I wanted to," said Callahan, who refused to identify the lawmaker.
At that point, DiMasi banged down the gavel, cutting off debate.
Earlier in the week, Callahan had complained that she felt she hadn't had an opportunity to make the case for the extra money to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which drafts the House version of the budget.
The allegation played out against a backdrop of nagging ethics concerns for DiMasi and continued rumblings of a battle between possible successors, including House Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, and Rep. John Rogers, D-Norwood.
An aide to Callahan reached Wednesday said the lawmaker is declining to comment further beyond a written statement issued last week, citing the ongoing ethics investigation.
In that statement, Callahan said she went public with the alleged threat "because it is concerning to me and must be dealt with."
She also said she was satisfied that DiMasi was taking the incident seriously.
The House Ethics Committee has been little used in recent years to investigate allegations against House lawmakers.
DiMasi served as vice chairman of the committee in 1999, when it was revealed legislation he drafted would eliminate 61 affordable housing units in Boston's North End and generate a potential windfall for relatives. DiMasi denied violating any conflict of interest laws.
