November 15, 2016
House Leadership Elections
Both caucuses of the House of Representatives met today to hold their leadership elections. Here’s who will be at the helm of each for the 2017-2018 legislative session.
House Republicans
The House Republicans hold a strong majority in the House, with 122 members to Democrats’ 81 members. Their leadership team will include the following members next session:
Speaker of the House: Rep. Mike Turzai (Allegheny) currently serves as the Speaker of the House; today he was selected as Speaker-designee, and the whole house will vote on his election as Speaker in January.
Floor leader: Rep. Dave Reed (Indiana) is the current Republican Leader; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
Whip: Rep. Bryan Cutler (Lancaster) is the current Republican Whip; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
Appropriations Chairman: This position was up for grabs due to the retirement of Rep. Bill Adolph (Delaware), who served as Appropriations Chairman since 2010. Rep. Stan Saylor (York) will be the new Republican Appropriations Chairman as we head into next session. Rep. Saylor served as the Chairman of the House Education Committee this session.
Caucus Chairman: Rep. Sandra Major (Susquehanna) retired after serving five terms as Republican Caucus chairwoman. Rep Marcy Toepel (Montgomery) was chosen as the new chairwoman.
Caucus Secretary: Rep. Donna Oberlander (Clarion) is the current Republican Caucus Secretary; she will continue to serve in that post next session.
Caucus Administrator: Rep. Brian Ellis (Butler) is the current Republican Caucus Administrator; Rep. Kurt Masser (Columbia) will serve in that post next session.
Policy Chair: Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (Centre) is the current Republican Policy Chair; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
House Democrats:
Floor leader: Rep. Frank Dermody (Allegheny) is the current Democratic Leader; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
Whip: Rep. Mike Hanna (Clinton) is the current Democratic Whip; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
Appropriations Chairman: Rep. Joe Markosek (Allegheny) is the current Democratic Appropriations Chairman; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
Caucus Chairman: Rep. Dan Frankel (Allegheny) is the current Democratic Caucus Chairman; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
Caucus Secretary: Rep. Rosita Youngblood (Philadelphia) is the current Democratic Caucus Secretary; she will continue to serve in that post next session.
Caucus Administrator: Rep. Neal Goodman (Schuylkill) is the current Democratic Caucus Administrator; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
Policy Chair: Rep. Mike Sturla (Lancaster) is the current Democratic Policy Chair; he will continue to serve in that post next session.
For an explanation of the duties of each position, check out our blog post from last week: https://www.buchanangovernmentrelations.com/worth-another-look-legislative-leadership-elections/.
Tomorrow the Senate will hold their leadership elections; check back to this blog or follow us on twitter @BuchananGov for updates.