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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Tom
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State Rep. Bill DeWeese |
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DeWeese gives up Speakership in bid to reform House
HARRISBURG, Jan. 2 – In an effort to jumpstart true bipartisan reform efforts in the state House of Representatives, Rep. Bill DeWeese today gave up his expected rise to the position of Speaker of the House and instead nominated Republican Rep. Dennis O’Brien, who later won the vote and became the new Speaker of the House.
“To be able to wield the speaker’s gavel again, and to be in the company of Benjamin Franklin who also held the esteemed position, would have been a gratifying and humbling experience, however, the House Democratic Caucus wanted to show that we are ready for a clean slate and to start over,” DeWeese said. “We live in interesting times and we certainly do not want 12 more years of the status quo. We want that aisle not to be a dividing line, but rather we want it to be a place that we walk over and greet each other.”
DeWeese said despite O’Brien’s party affiliation, Democrats would remain the majority party with a 102-101 split and DeWeese would move from minority leader to majority leader.
“I have no doubt that Speaker O’Brien will, with fervor, tackle issues of importance to every Pennsylvanian during his tenure at the dais. He is a fine-hearted Republican and he and Governor Edward G. Rendell have a tremendous personal chemistry that should benefit every person living in our Commonwealth.
“I have experienced tremendous trials and tribulations and several ups and downs during my 31 years in public service, but I can without hesitation say that I still love my job. This is an exciting time in Pennsylvania and I am reinvigorated by the recent increase in public discourse regarding state government,” DeWeese said.
“I look forward to making sure that we, as a body, live up to the high expectations that the citizens of our Commonwealth have bestowed upon us. We must work collectively in a bipartisan manner to restore the public trust in government, to expand property tax relief for all homeowners, to provide access to quality and affordable health care for every citizen, to establish a healthy environment as a legacy for future generations, to develop a positive atmosphere for job creation and so much more,” DeWeese said.
DeWeese was elected to the state House in a special election in 1976 and has served the 50th District (all of Greene and parts of Fayette and Washington counties) ever since.
A more detailed biography of DeWeese can be found at http://www.pahouse.com/deweese/#bio.
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