Following the midterm election earlier this month, Pennsylvania legislators cast their own ballots for a series of leadership positions over the last few weeks, setting up a state legislature that is going to look decidedly different next year.
Republicans gained control of the Pennsylvania House in the election, joining the already-Republican-controlled Senate.
In the House, GOP lawmakers elected Rep. Sam Smith (R-66th Dist.) to serve as Speaker and Rep. Mike Turzai (R-28th Dist.) as majority leader.
House Democrats selected Rep. Frank Dermody (D-33rd Dist.) as minority leader and Senate Democrats chose Sen. Jay Costa (D-43rd Dist.) as that chamber’s minority leader.
The power shift in the state legislature swung away from Philadelphia with the election, as the House Speaker, majority and minority leaders and Senate minority leader all hail from the western part of the state, as does Gov.-elect Tom Corbett (R).
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission chair Steve Glassman said balanced representation from around the state is best for the legislature, but the local community will have to work with what has been presented.
“I think it is wise to have geographic representation in the leadership in both houses and both parties, but we have to just respond to the leaders that have been elected,” Glassman said.
The House Democratic Appropriations Committee was also turned over to a Western lawmaker, as Philadelphia Rep. Dwight Evans (D-203rd Dist.), the longtime ranking Democrat on the committee, was ousted by Rep. Joseph Markosek (D-25th Dist.), from Allegheny County.
“I believe that the best interests of Philadelphia are served by a Democratic majority, not by a Republican majority,” said Rep. Mike O’Brien (D-172nd Dist.), who nominated Markosek to the post. “But I believe the way back to the majority is without Dwight in leadership. I think he’s failed in his policy initiatives.”
O’Brien disagreed with the fear that the lack of Philadelphia leadership in the House Appropriations Committee, and across the board, in the new session will cut off funding for the city.
“In the last eight years, Philadelphia has had a governor from Philadelphia, a House Appropriations chair from Philadelphia and previously a Senate Appropriations chair from Philadelphia. We’re facing a $5-billion deficit and a $1-billion deficit in transportation. That’s a lot of money that we have to come up with. So there just isn’t money to go around, and I don’t think Philadelphia would be in a better position than with a Philadelphian in that seat.”
O’Brien did note that the Philadelphia area will still be represented in the appropriations process through Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-7th Dist.), who was elected the minority leader of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In addition to the geographical shifts, the new leadership marks a transition from the previous legislature in terms of LGBT support.
While Rep. Keith McCall, outgoing House Speaker, sponsored several pro-LGBT measures, neither Smith and Turzai have supported LGBT-rights measures; both voted in favor of the 2006 Marriage Protection Amendment, which sought to ban same-sex marriage in the state, a vote shared by Markosek.
Despite Markosek’s previous vote, however, O’Brien said he’s assured the legislator, and other newly elected Democratic leaders will effectively represent the interests of the LGBT community.
“Being a leader of the Democratic caucus and just representing your specific district can be different,” he said. “For me, there are times when it’s pretty obvious that I’m voting my district and speaking solely for my district and you can’t move me off of that position. But it’s an entirely different issue when you’re a leader and your voice is not just for your legislative district but you speak for Democrats across the state. I’ve had conversations with the new leadership team and I have expressed my concern about various anti-LGBT legislation, and I feel very confident that this Democratic caucus will adopt an agenda that will try to prevent any harm to the community.”
With the Republican stronghold, O’Brien said it’s going to be difficult to advance any pro-LGBT legislation; instead, ally lawmakers will likely have to focus on defeating efforts like the Marriage Protection Amendment.
“We will have a Republican governor, a large Republican majority in the House and a large Republican majority in the Senate, so regardless of who’s sitting in leadership positions, the chance of advancing LGBT legislation is slim to none. Going into this next session, our position almost has to be defensive,” he said. “For us Democrats, it’s just time-out for the next two years. We’re out of the game because there’s just not enough of us. With Bobby Donatucci passing away, we only have 90 Democrats. Republicans can run an agenda without one Democratic vote, send it over to the Senate and then on to the Republican governor for his signature without even talking to us. And that’s the hard, cold political reality, and that’s what we have to be prepared for.”
Despite the grim outlook, Glassman said LGBTs need to be persistent about opening conversation with the new leadership about the community’s issues.
“We unfortunately don’t determine the leadership, that’s the parties who do, and the truth is that the House and Senate have been more conservative over the last number of years,” he said. “That’s the reality of the political situation. A lot of their positions have been unfavorable to LGBT equality in the past, but we can only hope that we’ll have opportunities to educate them and work with them on the issues and help them to understand how a change in position on their part would benefit Pennsylvania.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].