Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-Berks), left, speaks during an April 4, 2022 rally in Harrisburg on a bill that would open a new legal time window for survivors of child sexual abuse.
Sam Dunklau / WITF
Mark Rozzi, a Democrat, is elected Pennsylvania House speaker
Rozzi says he’ll be an “independent” who won’t caucus with either party.
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Brett Sholtis
Sam Dunklau / WITF
Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-Berks), left, speaks during an April 4, 2022 rally in Harrisburg on a bill that would open a new legal time window for survivors of child sexual abuse.
Pennsylvania state House lawmakers elected Democrat Mark Rozzi of Berks County as house speaker — making him the first Democrat to hold the position in over a decade.
Minutes later, Rozzi said he planned to serve as an independent.
“I pledge to caucus with neither the Republicans nor the Democrats,” Rozzi said in his acceptance speech. “My staff will be made up of people from both parties. I pledge my allegiance and my loyalty to no interest in this building, to no interest in our politics.”
The surprise result — Republicans hold a narrow House majority — came after Republican Jim Gregory of Blair County nominated Rozzi for the powerful speaker role. Republican Whip Tim O’Neal seconded the nomination, and Democrat Joanna McClinton, who was House minority leader last session, supported it as well.
Democrats won the House narrowly in November. But one winning Democrat, Anthony Deluca, died before election day, while two others, Summer Lee and Austin Davis, resigned because they were elected to higher offices. That gave Republicans a 101-99 majority. Democrats were considered favorites to win those three open seats and claim a 102-101 majority, but Rozzi’s departure from the party would change that.
Competing with the Rozzi nomination, Republican state Rep. George Dunbar of Westmoreland County nominated Somerset County Republican Carl Walker Metzgar to be speaker. However, some Republicans opted for Rozzi, with 115 lawmakers voting for him.
His rise to speaker comes after some Republicans pushed to hold the special elections in two of the vacant Democratic seats during the primary in May — rather than in February, as Democrats proposed.
It’s unclear whether Rozzi, who sets the House calendar, will allow Republicans to move forward with plans to introduce several constitutional amendments on issues such as voter ID and blocking regulations.
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