GOP Senate votes him out in favor of Corman
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Sen. Dominic Pileggi
Chester County will no longer have representation in the leadership of either party’s leadership in the state legislature, after a shakeup Wednesday deposed Sen. Dominic Pileggi from his post as Majority Leader of the state Senate.
Pileggi (R-9), who represents a large portion of the eastern part of Chester County, was reportedly voted out of his position for not being conservative enough.
Pileggi was defeated by Sen. Jake Corman (R-34), who had been chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, my top priority was controlling spending and keeping taxes down for working families and job-creators,” Corman said in a statement. “As Majority Leader I will continue to promote fiscal responsibility, ensure that government lives within its means, and work to bring consensus on issues that are important to state residents.”
For his part, Pileggi offered hopes for success for the new leadership team as it deals with incoming Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat.
“It has been an honor to serve the Senate Republican Caucus as Leader for the past eight years, and I’m proud of our many accomplishments. I wish the new Republican leadership team the best.”
Sen. Joe Scarnati (R-25) was nominated again to serve as President Pro Tempore — which is voted upon by the full Senate in January. Rumblings around the capital suggest that Pileggi may challenge Scarnati — the two have long been at odds — and may have at least some Democratic support for the position, although with Republicans holding a decisive 30-20 edge in the upcoming Senate term, it’s likely Pileggi would need virtually all of the Democrats to support his bid, should he choose to make one.
Other changes to the Republican leadership in the state Senate include: Sen. Pat Browne (R-16) will be the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, one typically one of the key positions in the senate, because of its role in the budget process and on spending bills.
Sen. John Gordner (R-27) has been elected Majority Whip while Sen. Bob Mensch (R-24) will serve as Majority Caucus Chairman for the 2015-2016 legislative session. The new Senate Majority Caucus Secretary is Sen. Richard Alloway (R-33).
The state Senate Democrats — which includes Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-19), who covers much of northern and western Chester County — made fewer and less dramatic changes to their leadership team.
Sen. Jay Costa (D-43) was reelected as Minority Leader, as was Sen. Anthony Williams (D-8) for Democratic Whip, while Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-7) will again serve as minority chair of Appropriations. Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-42) was elected Caucus Chair, Sen. Larry Farnese (D-1) is Caucus Secretary and Sen. John Yudichak (D-14) will serve as Caucus Administrator.
In the state House of Representatives, Rep. Mike Turzai (R-28) was nominated to replace retiring Speaker of the House Rep. Sam Smith, with Rep. Dave Reed (R-62) placing Turzai as Majority Leader of the House. Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-100) is the new Republican Whip, while Rep. William Adoph (R-165) was reelected chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. Sandra Major (R-111) continues as the caucus chair.
House Democrats reelected Rep. Frank Dermody (D-33) who fought off a challenge from Lancaster County Rep. Mike Sturla. The Democratic Whip is Mike Hanna (D-76) and Dan Frankel (D-23) is the Caucus Chair. Rep. Joe Markosek (D-25) will serve as minority chair on Appropriations.
