DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Tensions from the Capitol spread to Derry Township on Wednesday, as a group of protesters stood outside the office of State Rep. Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin). The protesters called for Mehaffie to sign a petition to force the House to reconvene.
The protest comes as the House remains closed after Democrats and Republicans could not come to an agreement over operating rules.
Unable to bring any legislation up for a vote, Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) adjourned the session and locked the House doors.
Republican leadership has blamed Democrats for the gridlock that has prevented legislation from moving forward.
The Freedom Caucus, a newly formed Republican caucus in the House, proposed an unusual maneuver to force the House to reconvene. They circulated a petition to form a quorum with a simple majority, which is 101 members.
One hundred members signed the petition.
The lone holdout was State Rep. Mehaffie, who questioned the legality of the maneuver.
The language of the petition quoted United States v. Ballin, an 1892 Supreme Court case regarding quorum in Congress. It’s unclear if the case can be applied to the current situation in the Pennsylvania legislature.
“The petition was based on United States v. Ballin,” Mehaffie said. “That did not do what it was supposed to… I’m not an attorney, but I felt it wasn’t worth doing it.”
Several House members have singled out Mehaffie and accused him of not being Republican enough. State Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Lawrence/Butler) posted the signed petition, along with a caption that read, “'Republican’ PA State Rep. Tom Mehaffie refused to sign the letter to return to work.”
State Rep. Dawn Keefer (R-York), who chairs the Freedom Caucus, suggested in an interview that Mehaffie should caucus with Democrats.
Mehaffie responded, “No, I’m not caucusing with the Democrats. I’ve been a lifelong Republican since I was 18 years old, when I could register. I’m going to continue to caucus with the Republicans and going to continue on and do the right thing.”
The protest against Mehaffie on Wednesday was organized by Free Pa., a conservative grassroots group. Protest organizers said voters deserved to have their representatives working during the legislative session.
“When we have our House closed, then our people are not being truly represented,” said Danielle Lindemuth, the chapter leader of Free PA Capitol Area.
Lindemuth pointed to three constitutional amendments that passed in the Senate but have not been brought to a vote in the House. One, a constitutional amendment to open a window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers, passed the deadline to be put as a voter referendum on the spring primary ballot.
“That’s not going to happen because of the political pandering that is going on,” she said.
A separate group came to Mehaffie’s office to support him, as well as Speaker Rozzi’s decision to close the house.
“There are just some people who don’t like that right now. And is it inconvenient for them? Probably. But at the end of the day, we’re going to stand here and support his right to do it, just like we’re going to support Tom,” said Rob Bair, president of the Pennsylvania State Building and Construction Trades Council.
The House will likely stay out of session until after the Feb. 7 special elections, which are expected to give Democrats a clear majority.
House Democrats said in a statement, “The House is currently adjourned until Feb. 27, however, legislators could be called back sooner by the Speaker.”