DeWeese pressed to quit leadership role
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – An unfolding political corruption scandal in Harrisburg prompted another House Democrat to call on Bill DeWeese to step down as minority leader Monday, saying DeWeese has lost the voters’ trust and cannot regain it. Rep. Josh Shapiro, a second-term state representative who holds the largely ceremonial title of deputy speaker, told reporters that the disturbing grand jury presentments that recommended charges against 12 people demand monumental change that DeWeese is incapable of making.
“The abuses outlined in the presentments occurred on Bill’s watch, and as such he will always be a symbol of a broken system,” said Shapiro, D-Montgomery.
“As Democratic leader, he should take responsibility and resign his post,” he said.
Shapiro is not the first Democrat to publicly call for DeWeese to resign, and he does not know whether a majority of Democratic representatives support his position. However, of the handful who have publicly called out DeWeese, many, if not all, have feuded with him for years.
DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, was not implicated in the criminal charges the attorney general’s office filed July 10 against current and former legislators and employees of the House Democratic caucus. Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican, accused the defendants of schemes to illegally use millions of dollars in taxpayer money, including employee bonuses, to underwrite political campaigns and personal perks.
DeWeese, a former Marine who was first elected to the House in 1976, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Responding to previous calls for his resignation, DeWeese has contended that the grand jury reports vindicated him, and said he could not have known about the alleged schemes because of the elaborate secrecy that was involved. Two of the people charged included his former chief of staff and a trusted former lieutenant.
He also has said that he hopes to continue to lead a Democratic majority.
For now, the Legislature is on its traditional two-month summer break from Harrisburg, with many lawmakers concentrating on their re-election campaigns before the Nov. 4 general election.
The election stakes in the House are high – Democrats hold a one-vote majority in the chamber – and the charges did not bolster their hopes of widening that margin this year.
In that vein, Shapiro said DeWeese’s continued presence atop the Democratic caucus is likely to wound efforts to pad their majority as the parties joust over issues such as health care for the uninsured, cutting property taxes and boosting public school funding.
“I think we have a better chance to pick up seats if he’s not our leader,” Shapiro said.
Copyright Associated Press 2008
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