Jan 3, 2007 2 min read

In a guest commentary that appeared on this page Oct. 6, in which he robustly chastised this publication for criticizing his record and performance, state Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Waynesburg) wrote: “Perhaps it is lost on you that as the Democratic leader, I am in line possibly to become the next Speaker of the House … I would think that your newspaper would recognize the value of having a local public servant in such a prominent statewide position, but it seems that is not the case. Rather, you blindly encourage your readers to retain Philadelphia Republican John Perzel as Speaker of the House.” In the heavily Democratic 50th District that he represents, it’s clear what pre-election card DeWeese was playing: By not voting for him, the Republicans would remain in charge. And the top dog among them would be a Philadelphia Republican, to boot. Such rhetoric plays well in DeWeese’s pro-union, Democratic bastion.

So what happened Tuesday, when the House convened to elect a new speaker? Supposedly loyal Democrat DeWeese, who should have had the top job by virtue of his party’s 102-101 control of that chamber, nominated state Rep. Dennis M. O’Brien, who is -are you ready for this? – a Philadelphia Republican, just like Perzel.

Clearly operating with significant Democratic support, O’Brien toppled Perzel by a 105-97 vote. The new Speaker said: “You have my pledge. I will move reform issues forward and I will try to be as fair as I possibly can.” According to the PACleanSweep Web site, the reform-talking O’Brien voted in favor of the July 2005 pay raise, accepted the money immediately as unvouchered expenses and was ensconced in CleanSweep’s “Hall of Shame,” along with DeWeese and Perzel, for refusing to pay back the money. So we’ll adopt a Missouri-like, “Show me” posture when it comes to his pledges on reform.

We’ll credit DeWeese for outmaneuvering Perzel on this one. Apparently Bill likes some Philadelphia Republicans.