Dennis M. O'Brien
Dennis O'Brien | |
---|---|
Stephen Wodjak | |
Succeeded by | John Swaim |
Personal details | |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | June 22, 1952
Political party | Republican |
Children | 3 |
Dennis Michael O'Brien (born 1952) is an
Personal life
A graduate of Archbishop Ryan High School,[2][3] he attended La Salle University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Labor Relations.[4] He has three sons, Dennis Jr., Brendan and Joseph.[5]
Political career
O'Brien was first elected to the Pennsylvania House in 1976 and served two terms before giving up his seat in 1980 to challenge fellow Republican Charles Dougherty for his congressional seat.[6]
O'Brien lost to Dougherty by 480 votes in the primary. In 1982, O'Brien ran for his old seat in the Pennsylvania House and won. He was re-elected in every succeeding election he contested. Prior to his elevation to the Speakership, he served as chairman of the House Committees on Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, Health and Human Services, Consumer Affairs, Judiciary. Upon leaving the Speaker's office, he served as chairman of the Committee on Children and Youth.
Autism
Inspired by his late nephew Christopher's diagnosis, O'Brien has been an advocate for autism issues and founded the Pennsylvania Legislative Autism Caucus.[7]
In over 20 years, he has proposed a number of bills requiring mandatory school and health care funding for patients.[8]
He worked with Governor Ed Rendell to organize a Bureau of Autism Services within the state's Office of Developmental Programs. In 2008, one of his bills, requiring insurance companies to cover autism treatment, was passed and signed into law.[9]
2007 Speaker Election
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Dennis M. O'Brien" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2017) |
O'Brien became the Speaker of the House following deals between Republicans and Democrats. Despite a one-seat
O'Brien went on to defeat Perzel, 105–97.[10] O'Brien was the first minority-party Speaker in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.[11]
2008 Primary Election
O'Brien defeated what was described as an "underground write-in campaign" in the 2008 Democratic primary election. With no Democrat on the ballot, a write-in candidate emerged in an attempt to secure a position on the November ballot as a Democrat. He organized his own campaign and defeated his opponent 1,372–416, meaning that O'Brien was listed on both parties' ballots in the general election.[12]
Post-Speakership
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Upon the election of 2008, the Democrats saw the opportunity to put their own in the Speaker's office. Representative
2011 City Council election
O'Brien announced his intention to run for one of the minority seats on Philadelphia's City Council in 2011. He, attorney
He was the sole member of Council voting to oppose a public water rate setting board, opting to instead leave that decision in the hands of the Water Commissioner.[14]
2015 Council Re-Election
O'Brien again ran for re-election to one of the two minority seats. He faced a field of five candidates, including the other incumbent, David Oh. With 100 percent of the ballots counted, O'Brien lost to Oh and Councilman Al Taubenberger.[15]
References
- ^ "Session of 1977 - 16lst of the General Assembly - Vol. 1, No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. January 4, 1977.
- ^ "DENNIS M. O'BRIEN - PA House of Representatives". Legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ^ Julianna Cerruti (November 20, 2015). "Ryan Review : Star studded AR". Archbishopryanreview.com. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ^ "La Salle University News". Lasalle.edu. January 16, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ^ "Speaker: Dennis M. O'Brien, Former City Councilman – Autism Conference". Lasalle.edu. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ^ Tom Waring (January 4, 2007). "O'Brien's new man of the House". Northeast Times. Retrieved August 23, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "PA Report 100" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capital Growth, Inc. January 23, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 27, 2020.
- ^ Chris Buckley (June 28, 2007). "O'Brien champion to autistic citizens". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Dave Pidgeon (July 3, 2008). "Revised autism bill passes Legislature". Intelligencer Journal. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Tracie Mauriello (January 3, 2008). "New House speaker hailed as firm, fair, passionate". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Amy Worden (June 18, 2008). "O'Brien's speaker deal upset GOP". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ Jeff Shields (May 5, 2008). "O'Brien effort thwarts challenge". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Citywide Election Results". Municipal General and Special Election Unofficial Results. Philadelphia County: The Philadelphia City Commissioners. November 8, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ^ "View Section: Council meeting, 12 December 2013 :: Philadelphia City Council Meetings :: SayIt". Philadelphia.sayit.mysociety.org. December 12, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ^ "Live Election Results: November 3, 2015 Municipal General & Special Election". Archived from the original on December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
External links
- City Councilman Denny O'Brien profile, phila.gov