Analysis: Is time running out for DeWeese?

BY CHARLES THOMPSON / Of The Patriot-News, 11/16/07 6:18 PM EST

UPDATED: 11/19/07 9:40 AM EST

The surprise purge of top state House Democratic staffers and the subsequent arraignment on
ethics charges of a former Democratic lawmaker begged a question at the Capitol last week: Is
time running out on Rep. H. William DeWeese’s tenure as the House Democratic leader?
The consensus from a sampling of Democratic lawmakers is that DeWeese’s stock is down. But
many feel he is owed a chance to ride out Attorney General Tom Corbett’s probe of legislative
operations and take Democrats in a better direction.
It was, without doubt, a horrid week for DeWeese, D-Greene.
Because of information revealed in reviews of e-mail and other records sought by Corbett’s
agents, DeWeese jettisoned seven House staffers Tuesday, including his longtime chief of staff,
Mike Manzo.
On Wednesday, Corbett announced charges against a longtime DeWeese ally, former Rep. Frank
LaGrotta, D-Lawrence, who was accused of padding his district office payroll with “no-work”
jobs for a sister and niece.
DeWeese said Friday that he has no intention of stepping down and predicted that when Corbett’s
probe has run its course, “my behavior will be seen as totally appropriate” by House members and
others.
But Democrats who entered the fall with high hopes of enacting legislation on alternative energy,
health care and open records have seen business on the House floor nearly stop.
In its place, media across the state have seized on coverage of the bonus investigation.
As a result, some lawmakers have begun carefully and quietly evaluating interest in replacing
DeWeese as the caucus’s most prominent face.
“Of course discussions are under way” about whether a change in leadership is needed, said one
Democratic member, who, like all of those contacted for this story, spoke on the condition of
anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the subject.
“A lot of people are starting to think this situation isn’t going to go away ... as long as the status
quo is there,” another said.
Others said they believed patience is in order.
“The key test for me is whether or not we can get legislation and reforms done,” a third Democrat
said. “If these issues impact our ability to get stuff done, then we have a caucus problem. It’s just
too soon to tell.”
Still others said they simply needed more information: Will Corbett’s investigation implicate
DeWeese? Can anyone else get enough support from the membership to mount a viable
challenge?
Some analysts said last week’s forced resignations buttressed perceptions that some House
Democratic employees crossed the line between government and campaign work in 2006.
The staffers were let go, caucus sources said, after reviews of documents subpoenaed by Corbett
pointed to bonus and campaign-related issues that breached caucus rules, whether or not they
amounted to criminal conduct.
Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, who was among the Democratic leaders briefed on the review,
said he thinks the purge was taken with “an excess of caution.”
“There may have been errors in judgment,” he said, “but no one on the staff is being accused of
anything that has ever been prosecuted in Pennsylvania.”
Even so, the strategy seemed to telegraph a plan in which DeWeese — a delegator who relied on
lieutenants to manage the affairs of the caucus, which has more than 800 employees — tries to
limit his and his colleagues’ exposure to whatever Corbett’s agents turn up.
Bill Chadwick, a risk-management consultant hired in March to try to improve caucus operations,
cast Tuesday’s moves in an almost heroic light.
“He’s trying to lead a caucus that is under siege, and he’s making decisions that are putting him at
odds with friends and longtime colleagues ... in an effort to put this place on a Bob Casey-type
footing,” said Chadwick, a state inspector general under former Gov. Robert P. Casey.
But others voiced doubts that the Democrats can emerge from the shadow of Corbett’s
investigation with DeWeese — a Democratic leader since 1989 — as their most prominent face.
With Tuesday’s purge, “There seems to be an acceptance there was some wrongdoing here,” noted
Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College. “Harrisburg has always
struggled with accountability. But it’s really a stretch to say that these types of very unappealing
incidents cannot be put back on him. ... It’s under his watch.”
A group of self-proclaimed “reform Democrats from the street” spoke even more strongly Friday.
They presented a letter to House Democrats calling for them to remove DeWeese as their leader if
he doesn’t step down.
“The House is burning, and it’s up to you to put out the fire,” the letter said. The drafters included
midstate activists Gene Stilp and Eric Epstein, both of whom have run for office as Democrats.
G. Terry Madonna, a Franklin & Marshall College political analyst, noted that DeWeese’s future
doesn’t rest only with Corbett’s probe or the caucus members’ reaction to it. There also are his
constituents in Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.
DeWeese narrowly won re-election in 2006, and the news from the Capitol this year likely hasn’t
broadened his base of support.
“There are many ways he could have a real problem” in 2008, Madonna said. “This is a pins-and-
needles moment ... waiting to see what happens.”
CHARLES THOMPSON: 705-5724

or cthompson@patriot-news.com