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Tribune News Service
Tribune News Service
National
Ford Turner

It's a 'new day' in Harrisburg as Joanna McClinton becomes the first woman elected speaker of the Pa. House

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania lawmakers elected state Rep. Joanna McClinton as the first woman to become House speaker Tuesday, ending months of turmoil in the chamber after state Rep. Mark Rozzi resigned from the top job.

McClinton, an eight-year Democratic member from Philadelphia, got 102 votes for speaker. The only other lawmaker nominated for the job, state Rep. Carl Metzgar, a Somerset Republican, got 99 votes.

An ordained minister and lawyer who was raised by a single parent, McClinton is the second Black lawmaker to lead the chamber, following K. Leroy Irvis, who was first elected speaker in 1977 and served almost eight years over two stints in the job.

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