Pa.’s first woman House speaker had rapid rise
McClinton has made history in several stops along the way
Joanna McClinton became Pennsylvania’s first female Speaker of the House on Tuesday, ascending into the leadership role after seven years representing Philadelphia in the state Legislature, where she made a name for herself as a relationship-builder and a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform and women’s health issues.
After a false start in November when Democrats prematurely held a news conference declaring they had a majority — and anointed McClinton their pick for speaker — the House elected her to the position Tuesday.
The party-line vote came moments after Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, resigned the position and backed McClinton.
“I’m grateful for all who fought before me … so that this day was possible,” McClinton said after taking the oath of office. “It is only on their shoulders that I stand here today.”
McClinton, 40, grew up in Southwest Philadelphia, and graduated from LaSalle University and Villanova Law School. Once she entered politics, friends and colleague say she exceled at networking and navigating Harrisburg. She quickly made a name for herself in Democratic circles by pushing back on Republican policies in passionate floor speeches, several of which went viral.
Her election makes her the first Black woman and only the second Black speaker in the state’s history and alongside Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, puts Black legislators in charge of both chambers.
Several of McClinton’s colleagues noted her historic election occurred on the last day of Black History Month.
“I don’t know that I’ve witnessed anybody moving that quickly in public service to that type of elevated position,” said state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, D-Philadelphia, whose office McClinton worked for as a chief legal counsel. “And that’s partly a blessing but it also has to do with her instincts, her intellect.”
McClinton is used to making history. In 2018 she became the first woman and first African American elected to House Democratic Caucus Chair. In 2020 she was the first woman elected Democratic leader and last year she became the first female Majority Leader.
She won her seat in the House in a 2015 special election to fill the vacancy of former Rep. Ronald Waters,
who resigned after pleading guilty to accepting bribes.
She became a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, LGBTQ Equality Caucus and Women’s Health Caucus and was appointed in 2017 to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing.
When longtime Democratic Leader Frank Dermody lost reelection in 2020, she was seen by many in the party as a replacement, both based on her leadership and the opportunity Dermody’s departure presented to elevate a woman to the role.
“Our entire leadership slate, I think, has put a premium on lifting up the diversity of our caucus and giving folks an opportunity to lead,” Kenyatta said. “And Joanna’s spent time understanding the substantive
concerns people have and trying to work with people on those things. … Being kind to people, I think, is underrated as a skillset as it relates to legislating.”
McClinton’s district includes parts of Delaware County and West Philadelphia, including the part of Southwest Philadelphia where she grew up and attended Greater Hope Christian Academy.
She often talks about her upbringing, raised by a single mom who worked at a local college and ran a catering business. On Tuesday, upon accepting the gavel, she thanked her high school principal at Greater Hope, Marilynn Miles. McClinton grew up in the Pentecostal church and is now an ordained minister who has
worked on youth programs at Open Door Mission True Light Church in West Philadelphia.
“She is somebody who reflects this commonwealth, somebody who has not been born on third base but had to run and slide into every base she’s ever had,” State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, who nominated McClinton, said in an interview. “Some of the moments — viral moments she’s had — I think were communicating that frustration from people who in many instances have done it alright and still are not seeing themselves seen, heard or prioritized.”
McClinton has prioritized women’s health as well as prison and criminal justice reform. She delivered a fiery pro-abortion rights speech that went viral in July, after the Republican-led house passed a bill asking voters to amend the state constitution to declare that there is no right to abortion.
“We’re talking about women dying,” she said in the address. “We’re talking about more than half the population not being able to make decisions — when not even half of this body has a uterus.” That speech earned more than 3 million views and attracted wide support.
“When she speaks, it all kind of comes up why she’s supposed to be here,” Williams said. “You can understand why it all came together because she is a person that is able to articulate what people are actually feeling — and you can see it in her comments today when she spoke to women who are Democrats and Republicans, which I think was really smart.”
Based on her voting record, McClinton is likely to bring a more liberal bent to leadership than Rozzi, who became a short-term speaker as part of a compromise between Democrats and Republicans.
While McClinton has been a vocal supportive of Democratic policies, she’s also known as a relationship-builder and on Tuesday she stressed she wants to be a bipartisan leader.
“For those who might be disappointed or frustrated or even skeptical … give me the chance,” she said. “Give me the opportunity to show you what I can do for this chamber for this great institution. Give me the chance and the opportunity to do the work on the floor, to get to know you, to find out what your priorities are, to get to know what you’re passionate about, and whatever brought you … into this chamber in the first place. I am prepared, my sleeves are rolled up to do the work.”