Erie's Democratic delegation says apparent state House majority gives party 'seat at the table'

When state Rep. Bob Merski of Erie introduced House Bill 644 on Jan. 21, 2021, he thought the simple, non-political proposal stood a good chance of advancing and eventually passing.

The bill was simple and straightforward: It would have required that the 800-number for the National Human Trafficking Hotline be posted in all of Pennsylvania's public restroom stalls, mirrors, and by all hand driers and paper towels dispensers.

"To human trafficking victims, seconds count," Merski wrote in his legislative memorandum. "Timing can mark the difference between life and death when access to a life-saving hotline number may provide the opportunity a victim needs to break free from their captor."

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But in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the bill, like dozens of others sponsored by Democrats, went nowhere. The GOP, Merski recalled, introduced their own slate of human-trafficking legislation.

"It was really disappointing," Merski told the Erie Times-News Tuesday. "That's what's really frustrating. Now, if we get the majority, we're going to have the chance to run bills that are meaningful to people. That's an exciting thing for me personally.

"Right now, we don't even have a seat at the table," he continued. "Everything is controlled by the majority."

'No pundit — nobody — expected this'

Merski might now have that chance. On Wednesday, Democrat Melissa Cerrato defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Todd Stephens in the 151st District in Montgomery County, by just 58 votes. Both sides dropped their challenges to another 54 provisional ballots and Stephens conceded Thursday.

It was one of two remaining uncalled races out of 203 in the Nov. 8 general election. The other is in the 142nd District in Bucks County.

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The razor-thin majority of 102 Democrats to 100 Republicans (with one seat still not called) was one of the unexpected outcomes of the midterm elections, which saw Democrats maintaining control of the U.S. Senate, losing far fewer seats than expected in the U.S. House and, most notably, winning down-ballot races to claim both the Michigan House and Senate, the Minnesota Senate and now the Pennsylvania House. All three states also elected or re-elected Democratic governors.

"I'm really surprised," said Merski, who took office in 2019 and won his third, two-year term earlier this month. "No pundit — nobody — expected this."

Republicans currently hold a 113-90 majority in the House.

The Democrats' narrow majority could have significant implications for Merski and his two other Democratic colleagues from Erie.

"I'm just looking forward to finally serving in the majority and delivering for the community," state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-3rd Dist., Millcreek Township, said.

Leadership role

Bizzarro currently serves as chairman of the Democratic Caucus's Policy Committee. Before that, Bizzarro was a chief minority whip. He's likely to continue to hold a leadership post in the new Democratic majority.

"We're actively having conversations about who's going where and who's staying in what positions," said Bizzarro, who took office in 2013 and won a sixth term. "You know, I think that every member of (Democratic) House leadership right now will be a part of the leadership in the majority. It's just a matter of figuring out who has the best personality for what and who has the best skill set for these certain positions."

The party has already nominated Rep. Joann E. McClinton, of Delaware County and Philadelphia, D-191st Dist., to be speaker of the Pennsylvania House, pending a vote. McClinton, the current Democratic leader, would become the first Black woman to ever hold the post in Pennsylvania.

Among the issues that Democrats could put forward in the House, Bizzarro said, are more funding for education and legalization and decriminalization of recreational marijuana, for which only two GOP state senators have announced their support, including state Sen. Dan Laughlin of Millcreek, R-49th Dist.

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More compromise

While Democrats will hold the majority in the House and retain control of the governor's mansion with the election of current Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who will succeed term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf, they'll still be facing a GOP-controlled state Senate. Half of the 50-seat chamber was up for re-election this cycle. Democrats gained one seat, which is currently held by an independent who did not seek re-election, but who caucused with the Republicans.

Bizzarro said that with some exceptions the Republican members of the Pennsylvania Senate are less ideologically driven than their House counterparts. Bizzarro believes House Democrats have a "much stronger relationship" with the GOP majority in the state Senate than it does with its counterparts in the House.

"Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are going get everything they want," Bizzarro said. "But I think that you're going see a lot of common ground on certain issues and we're going to be able to do some really great things for Pennsylvanians, things that are long overdue."

"It certainly changes the dynamics in Harrisburg," said Laughlin, the Republican who is in his second four-year term. "With the two chambers split there will need to be some more compromise, obviously, if we're going get anything done, which is not a bad thing. Quite frankly, with as thin of a margin as the Democrats will have they're not going to be able to run any kind of an extreme agenda because they have members who are very moderate as well."

Constitutional amendments

Republicans planned to push for several amendments to the state constitution — a workaround of veto powers held by Wolf and governor-elect Shapiro, both Democrats.

The party passed Senate Bill 106 before leaving for their summer recess. The legislation would put before voters constitutional amendments banning abortion rights, limiting a governor's powers to enact regulations, empowering the state auditor to audit elections, requiring voter ID at every election, and allowing each party's gubernatorial nominee to choose their running mate for lieutenant governor.

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In order to get these issues on the ballot, the legislation must pass two consecutive sessions of the General Assembly. Without support from Democrats, the proposed amendments won't pass the House in the 2023-2024 session.

"We are going to stop governing and legislating by constitutional amendment," Bizzarro said. "We're actually going to do the job that the people sent us here to do and that is to represent them."

'Not much gets done'

State Rep. Patrick Harkins, of Erie, D-1st Dist., said it could still be a few months into the new session before the party actually has the majority, depending on potential court challenges in the 151st and 142nd districts and how three Democratically-held seats are filled: Democrats Austin Davis and Summer Lee were both re-elected to their respective seats in the state House.

State law allows state representatives and state senators to run for statewide and congressional races while also running for re-election to their current seats. Voters elected Davis as the state's next lieutenant governor and Lee to the U.S. House of Representatives. Voters also re-elected the late Tony DeLuca, who died in October. State law required that DeLuca's name remain on the ballot.

"We may not actually get to the majority for a few months," Harkins said, "and much will depend on special elections for those seats, which are anticipated to stay Democrat, but who knows in this climate."

Harkins took office in 2007, when Democrats had also won a slim one-vote majority in the House. The party had planned to nominate then-Minority Leader H. William DeWeese to be speaker, but one Democrat refused to back DeWeese, which led to several backroom discussions between Democratic and Republican leaders. A compromise was reached in which moderate Philadelphia Republican Dennis O'Brien was named speaker instead, according to reports from the time from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"It was similar to what is unfolding right now," Harkins said. "We went through hell with the Republicans accepting the fact that we won the majority. They didn't want to accept even the simplest of things like the change of office spaces and the number of majority members on committees.

"As far as governing in this climate, unfortunately not much gets done," Harkins said. "Every member has a desire to get their issues to the forefront, but how much members are willing to compromise will define what and how much actually gets done. Factor in a new governor, Josh Shapiro. What goals does he set for his administration and is he able to articulate that with both caucuses?"

Harkins, though, said he's optimistic.

"We can and will get things done for working people," he said. "Under the Republican leadership nothing got done.

"We had simple pieces of legislation up until this week that would help working people, poor people, areas with much need, but the leadership on the Republican side had to appease the extremists within (their) caucus and run ignorant legislation," including the impeachment of Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, Harkins said.

A spokesman for House Republican Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. State Rep.-elect Jake Banta, of Waterford, R-4th Dist., also did not respond to a request for comment.

The apparent Democratic majority is the result, Merski and other Democrats have said, of a fair redistricting process that make state House and Senate districts more competitive through 2030. The five-member Legislative Reapportionment Commission approved the new maps in 2021 despite Republican objections that would later end up in court, where they were also unsuccessful.

"It's a testament to fair maps, " Merski said. "When you give people a fair choice like that, this is the kind of result you get. It's an opportunity to have contested races where you have choice and it's not a blowout."

Matthew Rink can be reached at mrink@timesnews.com or on Twitter at @ETNRink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie's state delegation sees PA House flip as chance for compromise