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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep. Mark Rozzi |
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Rep. Mark Rozzi issues
statement resigning as House Speaker
HARRISBURG,
Feb. 28 – State Rep. Mark
Rozzi issued the following statement resigning as Speaker of the House:
“I
stand before you today with a feeling of gratitude - and I wanted to take a
moment to thank you for your support last week for survivors of childhood
sexual assault.
“The
start of this session has not been easy – but ultimately, we came together in a
bi-partisan fashion for the victims -- and we passed what will be one of the
most important pieces of legislation of this session.
“We
made it clear that no matter who you are, how much money you have, what
standing you have in the community, how long you’ve delayed being caught – if
you abused a child in this commonwealth, or if you aided and abetted the
perpetrator -- justice is coming for you.
“Making the
welfare of children our first order of business this session is something we
all can be proud of.
“I
wanted to take a moment to share with members, particularly our new members, my
story. When I was 13 years old, I was raped by my parish priest. Many of my
childhood friends were also raped. Our innocence was stolen from us, and we
were left with a lifetime of trauma.
“Not
a day goes by where I am not affected by what happened to me, repeatedly, as a
boy. Some of my friends aren’t with us anymore. The trauma was too much. Drug and
alcohol abuse isn’t uncommon in the survivor community.
“The
pain is immeasurable and there are far too few resources available for
treatment. We need to do better for our survivor community.
“It
is far more proactive and way more humane to provide survivors with treatment
on the front end rather than deal with the consequences of a lifetime of trauma
on the back end.
“I came to Harrisburg not as an elected official, but as an advocate for
victims. When I attended my first rally in the rotunda hosted by representative
McGeehan, I was astounded by how few representatives were in attendance.
“Elected
officials always talk about being there for our children -- but when it was
time to stand up for them, where were they? It was at that moment that i realized that Harrisburg was not actually working for the
people but was working for itself.
“I
had no desire to become a state representative – and I certainly never imagined
being the Speaker of the House. I was living the American dream. I was running
a small family business and contributing to my hometown community.
“But I
realized that the only way that Harrisburg could be fixed was from the inside.
When my good friend representative Dante Santoni
decided to step down, I saw my opportunity, and thankfully my community decided
to send me to Harrisburg as their state representative.
“From
day one my priority has not changed – to provide relief to survivors of
childhood sexual assault. But my perspective has changed. While I knew that
Harrisburg just worked for itself, i didn’t know how
corrupt it actually was.
“I
saw firsthand the power of monied special interests. Time and time again, I saw
how special interest groups would hold fundraisers for certain members of
leadership and how those leaders would refuse to run legislation unfavorable to
those special interests.
“I
saw campaign dollars prioritized over relief to kids who were raped. But
despite being on the inside, as a rank-and-file member there was little I could
do to change things.
“That’s
why when presented with the opportunity to become speaker of the house, I
jumped on it. I thought that finally I would be able to change things. I
thought that finally I could place kids above special interests.
“But
yet again, my perspective changed.
“Now
in a position of leadership, while I can shepherd legislation through the house,
I have no control over what the other chamber does. And rather than my
leadership being a catalyst to do what is right, it has provided new
opportunities for special interests to mettle.
“Knowing
my commitment to statute of limitations reform, for the first-time ever,
statute of limitations reform has been tied to constitutional amendments
dealing with voter ID and regulatory reform.
“Special
interests are betting that i will use my position as
speaker to force my colleagues to take a single vote on the constitutional
amendment that will:
·
Provide
relief to survivors of childhood sexual assault.
·
Provide
for voter ID.
·
Provide
a legislative veto over executive regulations.
“But
if I did that, I’d be contributing to Harrisburg doing more of the same. I’d be
furthering a dysfunctional Harrisburg.
“No
member should be forced to choose between providing relief to kids who were
raped and disenfranchising untold numbers of their fellow Pennsylvanians.
“It
was all of these new perspectives that led me to realize
that we needed a full overhaul of our house rules. I also knew that the answers
to the dysfunction in Harrisburg could not come from Harrisburg – we needed to
hear directly from the people.
“As
such, myself, and the members of the Speaker’s
Workgroup to Move Pennsylvania Forward, went on a statewide listening tour. We
traveled from Pittsburgh, to Philadelphia, to State College and to
Wilkes-Barre. We heard from hundreds of people confirming what we already knew
– Harrisburg is broken.
“But
they also gave us a fresh perspective and a renewed spirit that strengthened
our resolve to fix Harrisburg. This resulted in the Rozzi Rules that I will be
offering in the near future, which I believe will
fundamentally change the way we operate moving forward.
“Central
to these rules is that a majority of the members of the House, regardless of
the political makeup of the majority, should be able to carry the day. Leaders
should be first amongst equals – not first above all others.
“I
am proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in these two months as Speaker of
the House of Representatives. For the first time since speaker Denny O’Brien’s
Speaker’s Reform Commission over a decade ago, reform has been at the forefront
of discussion in Harrisburg.
“While
I’ve done things differently and I’ve undoubtably upset people on both sides of
the aisle, I think that was not only needed, but was a sign that I was doing
something right.
“Before
you is a path to a different Harrisburg – one that can
return to our founding principal of government of the people, by the people,
for the people, but only if you take the next steps to safeguard it.
“Will
you do what is right? Or will you revert back to doing
what is politically expedient. Is your ultimate allegiance to the people -- or
is it to a political party?
“Look,
I know that I was not elected Speaker of the House by the people. The reality
is that I only stand at this rostrum because of what is wrong with Harrisburg,
not what is right.
“On November
8, 2022, Pennsylvanians voted to send a majority of
Democrats to the House of Representatives. Amongst that majority of elected
Democrats was:
·
A
legend of this chamber, Chairman Tony DeLuca, who was recently deceased;
·
Pennsylvania’s
first African American lieutenant governor, Austin Davis;
·
And
Pennsylvania’s first African American congresswomen, Summer Lee.
“Rather
than respecting the loss of a colleague and the historic achievements of
others, party politics bore their ugly heads and there was a push to claim an
unwon and undeserving temporary majority in the House.
“Fate
sometimes has a way of stepping in, however, and when the temporary majority
couldn’t elect a Speaker of their own, they attempted to hoodwink the house and
elect a member of the other party as Speaker to do their bidding for
them.
“What
they didn’t count on, however, is that there are good people here in Harrisburg
who won’t put self-interest over what is right. I was used as a child and it has tormented me my whole life – I will never
allow myself to be used again.
“As
previously mentioned, on November 8, 2022 there were
historic elections in Pennsylvania – the people elected our first African
American lieutenant governor and our first African American congresswoman.
“But
that’s not all they did – they elected a Democratic majority of the House
expecting that it would result in the first African American female Speaker of
the House. On November 15, 2022, i, along with all my
democratic colleagues, ratified the will of the people and voted unanimously
for the gentlelady from Philadelphia to lead us.
“I
voted for the gentlelady not because our policies are in complete alignment,
but because I believed she could fix our broken Harrisburg. On November 17,
2021 the gentlelady stood on this floor and made the following remarks:
“Mr.
Speaker, we can do better. We must do better. We are mere caretakers of this
House of Representatives. We have an obligation to pass this institution on to
the next generation in a better condition than we received it. But if we
continue down this path, we won’t have an institution to pass on. We will live
in nothing more than a tyranny of the majority. Let us return to civility. Let
us return to the Democratic process. Let us return to the House of Representatives
that Benjamin Franklin entrusted to us. Let us be decent. Let us be
deliberative. Let us be collegial and let us be professional. If we can’t do
that, if we won’t do everything necessary to achieve that, we are undeserving
of the offices that we have been entrusted with. Let’s do better.”
“Joanna,
I believe in your words. I believe in you. I, and all Pennsylvanians, are
counting on you. I will not allow the allure of power or the trappings of
office to keep me from doing what is right. I was not elected by the people for
this office, and I will not stand in the way of the woman who was.
“I
have said it before and i will say it again – I can
count votes and right now the gentlelady from Philadelphia has 101 votes of her
Democratic colleagues to be Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“While
I have kept to my commitment to serve as an independent speaker, in a few
moments i will be resigning my speakership, returning
to the Democratic Caucus, and proudly casting the 102nd vote for Speaker for one
of the most intelligent and compassionate women I have met in politics, my
friend and the hope of this commonwealth, she who will be the first female
African American Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the
gentlelady from Philadelphia, Joanna McClinton.
“Madame Chief
Clerk, I resign the speakership effective immediately.”
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