DeWeese says farewell to the House

HARRISBURG - With the approach of his sentencing on corruption charges, State Rep. Bill DeWeese took to the House floor Tuesday to bid farewell to the chamber where he has served for more than three decades and which he, for a time, ruled.

DeWeese, a Democrat and former House speaker, has continued to represent his Southwestern Pennsylvania district since his conviction in February on corruption charges, but the law bars him from remaining in office after his April 24 sentencing. The House meets this week for the last time before that day, which is also the date of the Pennsylvania primary.

Standing on the chamber floor, beneath the dais where he once presided, DeWeese referred only glancingly to the circumstances that will force his departure from a body in which he has served since 1976.

"We are all, I think, endeavoring to do our best," said DeWeese, 61. "Mistakes are made, and that's where this humility comes in now. I'm not as humble as I want to be, but I'm a lot more humble than I used to be."

Legislators on both sides of the aisle sat quietly as he spoke; at times they punctuated his remarks with applause or laughter. Both reactions were offered when he concluded his promised - but brief - remarks about humility: "That's pretty much that part of the speech."

A Marine Corps veteran, DeWeese was part of the House's Democratic leadership for more than two decades and was speaker from 1993 to 1994.

A Dauphin County Court jury convicted him Feb. 6 of three counts of theft, one of conflict of interest, and one of conspiracy. Prosecutors had argued that he illegally used state resources by compelling legislative staffers to perform campaign work on state time.

DeWeese says he plans to submit his resignation from the House after his sentencing but will pursue appeals starting April 25.

He is the only Democrat running for his House seat. He and his attorney have argued that the appeals system could reverse his verdict in time for him to return to the House for its next session.

In his farewell remarks, DeWeese praised numerous lawmakers in both parties and thanked Capitol workers, from security guards to the staff of the mail room.

"I can say it with the harsh reality of the moment," he said. "There are more important things than the speaker's gavel for me now. . . . My recollections will be the friendships with the people on this floor."

After he spoke, House Speaker Sam Smith, a Republican, recalled how DeWeese, during an earlier floor speech, had told a male colleague he loved him, before blushing and clarifying that he meant the remark "in a wholesome and manly way."

"The greatest gift of all is love," Smith said. "May you go in love."