HARRISBURG, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The monthlong drama in the Pennsylvania House over who would be the next speaker came to a conclusion Tuesday — with a surprise twist.
After swearing in new members and accepting the results of the governor’s race, it looked like the House was going to adjourn without electing a speaker, but after the motion to adjourn deadlocked at 100-100, Republican Jim Gregory rose to nominate Berks County Democrat Mark Rozzi.
“Many might be wondering why a Republican is standing up to nominate a member of the Democratic caucus,” Gregory said. “The answer is really very simple: We must have a speaker that reflects the realities that we have before us.”
House Democrats won 102 seats in November’s election, a one-seat majority in the 203-member House, but state Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D., Allegheny) died right before the election, and two other Allegheny County Democrats, reps. Austin Davis and Summer Lee, resigned when they won bids for higher office — Davis as lieutenant governor, and Lee as Pittsburgh’s newest member of Congress.
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Democrats, left with 99 members to the Republicans’ 101, are expected to re-take the majority in upcoming special elections, but the vacancies in the meantime have set off a whirlwind of court challenges and back-and-forth press conferences with both party leaders trying to stake a claim to the majority.
State Rep. Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia) had herself sworn in as majority leader on Dec. 7 in a private ceremony and scheduled special elections for the three vacant seats on Feb. 7.
Less than a week later, Bryan Cutler (R., Fulton Twp.) was separately sworn in as House GOP and sued. Saying McClinton lacked the authority of the presiding officer to schedule special elections, he issued his own writs of election. That litigation is still in Commonwealth Court.
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Both parties agreed to hold the election to succeed DeLuca on Feb. 7, but under the Republican plan, the elections for Lee’s and Davis’ seats would be held on May 16, the same day as the next primary election.
However, even after all of that, McClinton voiced her support after Rozzi’s nomination.
“I rise at this time to also agree that the gentleman from the [126th] legislative district out of Berks County from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a true leader among us,” she said.
Rozzi beat the Republican nominee for speaker, Carl Metzger, 115 to 85.
That wasn’t the end of the surprises. After he was sworn in as speaker, Rozzi announced he is becoming an independent, saying he will not caucus with either party, and his staff will comprise Republicans and Democrats.
“I pledge my allegiance and my loyalty to no interest in this building, to no interest in our politics,” Rozzi said. “I pledge my loyalty to the people of the commonwealth, the people who are tired of the hyperpartisanship from both parties, the people who are tired of middle-of-the-road legislating, the people who are tired of backroom dealmaking, the people who are tired of dysfunction and obstruction, the people who feel as though their voice is not heard. … Those folks deserve a seat at the table, and that seat is now the speaker's chair.”
Rozzi is beginning his sixth term in the House. He is a clergy sex abuse survivor who lists protecting children from predators, property tax relief, education, and infrastructure repairs as his priorities.
There was far less drama in the Pennsylvania Senate where Republican Kim Ward was elected president pro-tempore, removing the “interim” tag.