March 2nd 2023.
Giving the people what they want, Philadelphia state Rep. Joanna McClinton made history on Tuesday by becoming the first female to serve as speaker of the Pennsylvania House. According to Yahoo! News, the 40-year-old McClinton, who has been a state lawmaker since 2015, was selected for the post after Berks County Democrat Rep. Mark Rozzi voluntarily gave up the role he had held since January 3rd. “It was almost 250 years before a woman could stand at this desk, not just to give a prayer, but to get the gavel,” McClinton said after being sworn in. “
That’s pretty incredible.”
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta pointed out that McClinton is only the second African American to ever serve as speaker, with the first being the late Speaker Leroy Irvis in the 1970s. “She’s brilliant, formidable, and she gives voice to our values in ways that ring so true it reverberates around this chamber,” said Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny. “We are going to have rules that protect women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ because this is Pennsylvania, where democracy was born,” McClinton said.
McClinton, who grew up in southwest Philadelphia and attended La Salle University and Villanova Law School, was a public defender and a state Senate attorney prior to her role as a Democratic floor leader since 2020, being the first woman to ever be appointed for the position. Reportedly, McClinton won the vote over Republican nominee Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar of Somerset County with a result of 102-99 with two absences.
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