Credit: PA Internet News Service
Unsurprisingly, Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai and Democratic Majority Leader Frank Dermody will continue to serve in their same roles when the new Legislature is seated Jan. 1.
Advertisements
The parties’ respective caucuses held leadership elections this week, and both opted to retain the men at the very top. Both can claim some degree of victory as a result of the recent election, as Turzai’s Republican Party retained control of the House for a fifth consecutive term, albeit with a slightly smaller majority, while Dermody saw his party improve by 11 seats.
Technically, Turzai doesn’t retain the speakership until a vote takes place in the full House, but with the full support of the Republican caucus, his status is virtually assured.
The most notable change in either party’s leadership ranks was the ascension of Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Quarryville, from majority whip to majority leader. Cutler, who has served in the House since 2006, succeeds departing Majority Leader Dave Reed.
Advertisements
At a news conference to introduce the leadership team Tuesday evening, Turzai and Cutler emphasized that the Republican caucus intended to continue on many of the priorities it has pursued for the past several years. Fiscal responsibility and giving Pennsylvanians access to job training were among their policy goals, as well as reducing regulatory bloat.
“Something that I heard continually from businesses was the regulatory environment, particularly where I live right on the border with Maryland,” Cutler said. “Literally, folks can go 100 yards into Maryland and get a permit in 90 days, and they might have to wait a year or two here. We are competing with them, we need to be competitive with them.”
On the Democratic side, Dermody is joined by Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, as minority whip. Harris, who has been in the Legislature since 2012, already serves as chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.
Advertisements
“It’s important to the people I serve because they have someone that they elected in leadership that can help push an agenda that’s a Pennsylvania-first agenda, that’s about making sure that folks have a liveable wage, making sure that we lift people out of poverty, making sure that we put people back to work,” Harris said after the Democrats’ leadership election. “It’s all of the things that we believe in as Democrats.”
Democrats also announced that Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, was selected as chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus, making her the first woman and the first African-American to occupy that role.
Another key addition to the Democratic leadership team is Rep. Matthew Bradford, D-Norristown, as minority chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. In that role he’ll succeed retiring Rep. Joe Markosek, who had a notably friendly working relationship with Republican Appropriations Chairman Stan Saylor. Bradford, on the other hand, clashed frequently with House State Government Chairman Daryl Metcalfe in the past session.
Advertisements
The new majority whip for the Republicans is Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, who has been serving as the Republican Policy Committee chairman. He’ll be succeeded in the latter role by Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-Clarion, previously the caucus secretary.
