Jan. 06, 2023
HARRISBURG – Tuesday at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, the House of Representatives elected a new speaker.
Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny), who was re-elected to serve her third term representing the 44th Legislative District, was among several colleagues vying for the Republican nomination for speaker.
After much consideration and discussion, Rep. Carl Metzger (R-Cambria/Somerset) was selected as the Republican nominee. However, Rep. Mark Rozzi (I-Berks) was elected as speaker of the House of Representatives by a vote of 115-85.
In response to these events, Gaydos issued the following statement:
“It was an honor for me to be considered for the highest-ranking officer in the House. I congratulate Rep. Rozzi on becoming speaker and trust that he will honor his commitment to work with both Republicans and Democrats to get things done for all Pennsylvanians.
“I will remain steadfast in my focus on developing economic opportunities in our region and will work with the new speaker to ensure that our government advances issues which affect the pocketbooks of every Pennsylvanian, including tax reform, education reform and regulatory reform, as well as issues for which I have advocated, such as affordable health care, landslide protection insurance, reducing the size of Legislature, eliminating the inheritance tax and fighting bloated government, just to name a few.
“We need to focus our agenda on legislation that will unite us, not divide us. During this new House legislative session, the challenges before us are very demanding, but working together, I believe we can make positive strides.”