Special election to fill State Rep. Fresolo's seat announced

WORCESTER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin announced the special election dates for the House seat left open by John Fresolo Thursday.

A primary will be held on Aug. 13 in the 16th Worcester Representative District. That will be followed by the election on Sept. 10.

Candidates have until July 2 to submit their nomination papers to local registrars of voters for certification. All certified papers must be filed with Secretary Galvin by July 9. In order to be nominated to the ballot, candidates must have a minimum of 150 certified signatures.

State Rep. John Fresolo resigned Wednesday after being named as the subject of an investigation into "serious" allegations made by a House employee earlier in the year. The nature of the allegations were not known.

Fresolo said in his resignation to House Speaker Robert DeLeo: "I am currently unable to effectively serve my district and regretfully submit my resignation, effective immediately, hoping that a prompt special election will be held to fill the balance of my term."

The Ethics Committee's report never has to be released since Fresolo resigned. Committee members, as well as Fresolo, won't comment about exactly what allegations were being looked into. They say commenting would be a violation of House rules.

Cox Media Group