PA Elects Democrat As Speaker Of House As Bizarre New Session Begins

HARRISBURG, PA — The long-raging debate in the Pennsylvania General Assembly over the body’s next leader finally ended late Tuesday when State Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Democrat from Berks County, was named Speaker of the House.

Rozzi pledged to caucus with neither Democrats or Republicans. He was certified by a vote of 115-85.

“Sometimes Republicans will win, and sometimes Democrats will win, and that is fine, so long as the beneficiaries are the people of this commonwealth,” Rozzi said in a statement.

It brings to an end a bizarre set of circumstances left nebulous a situation that is typically little more than formality.

Hundreds of state lawmakers were sworn into their new posts Tuesday, including a massive batch of first-timers. Six new state senators and nearly 50 new state representatives are among this session's newcomers, but they remained without a formal Speaker of the House for hours after.

Republicans have held control for much of recent history, including the past decade. While Democrats had enormous wins in the midterms that were originally hailed as a shift in the balance of power, it turns out that things aren't quite that simple. The nonpartisan Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau says that Democrats technically only have 99 seats, and that therefore neither party had an official majority or right to leadership.

While Democrats did originally win the needed 102 seats to have a majority, one of those seats was a person who was dead, and two of them won higher office in different elections and will need to be replaced.

Longtime State Rep. Tony DeLuca died shortly before the election, too late to have his name removed from the ballot. A special election is set there for Feb. 7.

Two other Democratic winners were not sworn in Tuesday: State Rep. Austin Davis, who will become the state's next lieutenant governor, and State Rep. Summer Lee, who was elected to U.S. Congress. Special elections will have to be held there, too, but dates have not yet been set and lawsuits have already been filed in both cases, potentially tying up the result for months.

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The group broke at lunchtime following the morning swearing-in ceremonies.

The Speaker has numerous responsibilities in leeading the House, including managing proceedings and maintaining order. Often the Speaker exercises great authority over what issues and bills come up for debate.

Democrats had long hoped to elect House Democratic Leader Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia in the role.

New Gov. Josh Shapiro will work with a body that is split nearly dead-even, but has a Democrat at the helm. And while leaders in both parties remain as far away as ever as numerous key issues, there's a chance for the enormous new crop of legislators to set a new and more productive standard of governing in Pennsylvania.