The United States House of Representatives may eventually have to take a lesson from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in how to elect a Speaker.
The Pennsylvania House is even more closely divided than the federal House. Moreover, unlike the federal House, the Pennsylvania House requires an actual majority of its 203 members to elect a Speaker — not just a plurality of those members present and who choose to vote. It takes at least 102 votes to elect a Speaker in the Pennsylvania House. In November, 102 Democrats were elected, 101 Republicans. But one of those Democrats died, and two resigned to accept higher office — reducing the Democrats to 99.
On the premise that after the special elections to fill these vacant seats (“safe” districts for their party) they will have an actual majority, Democrats advanced the name of their caucus leader, Joanna McClinton, of Delaware and Philadelphia Counties, as Speaker. The election to replace the deceased member is slated for February 7. The other two elections may not take place until the May primaries. Until then, neither party will not have enough votes to elect a Speaker. In Harrisburg, as in Washington, the Lower House is constitutionally required to have a Speaker to preside over its business.
The Republican caucus, though led by a former Speaker, Bryan Cutler, of Lancaster County, put forth no candidate for Speaker — though a couple individual Republicans, perhaps wistfully, offered their own names as compromise choices who could somehow bridge the ideological gap between the two parties.
When, at noon on January 3, the Pennsylvania House convened, the possibility, even probability, loomed that several months might pass before the House — without a Speaker — could constitutionally perform any of its functions. In Harrisburg, unlike Washington, members do take their oath before a Speaker is chosen. After the swearing-in, the House went into recess — to await the arrival into the House chamber of the members of the Senate in order to jointly accept the results of the gubernatorial election. The expectation seems to have been that, after the joint session, the House would adjourn — not to meet again for another week all the while without a Speaker.
But around 2 pm, according to reporting by Steven Caruso of Spotlight PA and Crispin Havener of Johnstown's WJAC-TV, the Republican leadership took up among themselves a suggestion that, evidently, had been previously and quietly made by Jim Gregory, a three-term Republican from Blair County, concerning a friend of his, Mark Rozzi, a six-term Democrat from Berks County.
“I’ll give you his phone number and you can call him,” Gregory said he told his leadership. “But there is only one question you need to ask: What will it take, Mark? And then just shut up and listen. If he says something you think you can work with — then you have something. If he doesn’t, nothing gained, nothing lost.”
The question “What will it take?” meant in its fuller form “What will it take, in return for our support as Speaker, for you to leave your party and become an independent?”
The session did very nearly adjourn. All 99 Democrats, including Rozzi, voted to do so. So did one Republican. The 100-to-100 tie meant the motion to adjourn failed. The Chief Clerk then called for nominations for Speaker. She recognized Representative Gregory who began by saying that it would be unexpected that he, a Republican, would rise to nominate a Democrat. But given the stalemated situation, he regarded his action necessary. He described Rozzi as someone he could trust and work with and as a leader who could get the House through this impasse.
Significantly, Tim O’Neal, a Republican from Washington County, rose to second the nomination. Significant because O’Neal is whip for the Republican caucus.
It is unclear at what point Joanna McClinton became aware of Republican support for her colleague Rozzi or aware of preconditions for that support. What is clear is that she set aside, for the time being away, any personal ambition to be the first woman Speaker of the Pennsylvania House and rose to announce the support of her caucus for Rozzi’s nomination.
While the Republican leadership was onboard, most of their caucus, as yet anyway, was not. The caucus chair, George Dunbar, of Westmoreland County, was recognized after some parliamentary disputing whether nominations were still open. He offered the name of Carl Walker Metzgar, of Bedford and Somerset Counties. From his demeanor it appeared Dunbar was not “all-in” on Metzgar, but he had a caucus to appease.
All 99 Democrats voted for Rozzi, as did 16 Republicans — including all six members of the Republican leadership. Metzgar received 85 Republican votes. In a break from custom, Bryan Cutler did not presume upon his caucus to revisit the vote, in a gesture of good will to the new Speaker, to make it unanimous.
McClinton and Cutler escorted Rozzi to the rostrum. Even on a screen, Rozzi appears an imposing presence — though in that moment a little awkward. After sworn into the Speakership, he looked toward the members of the House and remarked that most of them could not have expected this. He expected it enough, though, to have some remarks prepared. He quoted Lincoln on the importance of “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
And he made the startling announcement that he would no longer caucus with his party and would become independent. He pledged to comprise his staff from both parties.
“The Commonwealth that is home to Independent Hall will not be home to this Commonwealth’s first independent Speaker of the House,” he said. “I pledge my allegiance and my loyalty to no interest in this building, to no interest in our politics. I pledge my loyalty to the people of the Commonwealth.”
This turn of events may strengthen the House as an institution. It may lessen it as a theater for partisan politics. Speaker Rozzi put the House into recess soon after his accession. As this is written, it remains in recess. Why the delay? Because the next important order of business is for the House to agree upon the rules by which it will conduct itself for the next two years.
If the Speaker acts truly as an independent, then after the presumed results of the special elections, the House will be evenly divided 101 to 101. Until then, the Republicans will have a 2-vote margin. The Rules will determine such things as the party composition of committees, the power of committee chairman, and how proposed legislation will move through the committee process and may appear before the entire House. These are all contentious matters. You would think one such Charybdis would be enough for the new Speaker. And it would, except he will also have to navigate another — how to appoint, in such an evenly divided House, committee chairmanships.
Jim Gregory did not necessarily do his friend Mark Rozzi a favor. He may have been the catalyst for his friend to have an opportunity to accomplish great things. But any opportunity to accomplish is shadowed by the risk of failing. Either way, it is a responsibility Mark Rozzi has now undertaken. Physically, Speaker Rozzi has wide shoulders. Figuratively, he may need wide shoulders.
Correction: in my earlier article “Politricks,” I asserted that “there is no living memory” of when either the Democratic or Republican parties were unable to elect from their own caucus a Speaker for the Pennsylvania House. I could not have been more wrong. In 2007, Democrats held a narrow majority but were unable to agree among themselves on a Speaker. Dennis O’Brien, a Republican from Philadelphia, emerged as a compromise choice between the two parties and was elected Speaker.