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
O'Brien became the Speaker of the House following deals between Republicans and Democrats. Despite a one-seat Democratic majority, the Democratic leader, Bill DeWeese, was unable to garner the votes necessary to win back the Speakership due to some dissatisfaction within his own caucus because of his handling of matters as leader, and notably due to the decision by one member in his caucus to vote for John Perzel, the incumbent Speaker. DeWeese nominated O'Brien, a Republican and a Perzel rival, in a surprise move.
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]
Upon the election of 2008, the Democrats saw the opportunity to put their own in the Speaker's office. Representative Keith McCall of Carbon County was elected Speaker with O'Brien opting out of the race. He was named the minority chairman of the House Committee on Children and Youth. In addition to those responsibilities, O'Brien worked with the Department of Public Welfare to ensure implementation of Act 62 (mandating autism insurance in Pennsylvania) which he wrote and passed while he was the Speaker.
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 David Oh, and incumbent Frank Rizzo Jr. were considered the clear favorites among the Republican contenders. On May 17, 2011, in spite of not being supported by any of the party organizations,[citation needed] O'Brien won one of the five GOP nominations for the City Council's at-large seats, with 17.32% of the vote. Oh won 18.50% of the vote, being first among the field of candidates, while Rizzo was soundly defeated, coming in 7th out of nine candidates—a result some have attributed to his involvement in DROP, the Deferred Retirement Option Plan. O'Brien went on to be the top finisher among the minority party candidates with an approximately 10,000-vote lead. He was sworn into Council on January 2, 2012.[13]
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.
^(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). . 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). . 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.
^. Archived from the original on December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
dennis, brien, other, people, with, same, name, dennis, brien, disambiguation, dennis, michael, brien, born, 1952, american, republican, party, politician, served, 137th, speaker, pennsylvania, house, representatives, from, 2007, 2008, first, elected, 1976, re. For other people with the same name see Dennis O Brien disambiguation Dennis Michael O Brien born 1952 is an American Republican Party politician who served as the 137th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2007 to 2008 First elected in 1976 he represented the 169th Legislative District in the state House for the most part of four decades He served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council for one term from 2012 to 2016 Dennis O BrienMember of the Philadelphia City Councilfrom the at large districtIn office January 2 2012 January 3 2016Preceded byFrank Rizzo Jr Succeeded byAl Taubenberger137th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of RepresentativesIn office January 2 2007 November 30 2008Preceded byJohn PerzelSucceeded byKeith McCallMember of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 169th districtIn office January 5 1983 January 2 2012Preceded byJohn SwaimSucceeded byEd NeilsonIn office January 4 1977 1 November 30 1980Preceded byStephen WodjakSucceeded byJohn SwaimPersonal detailsBorn 1952 06 22 June 22 1952 age 70 Philadelphia Pennsylvania U S Political partyRepublicanSpouseBernadette M O Brien nee Benson Children3 Contents 1 Personal life 2 Political career 3 Autism 4 2007 Speaker Election 5 2008 Primary Election 6 Post Speakership 7 2011 City Council election 8 2015 Council Re Election 9 References 10 External linksPersonal life EditA 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 EditO 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 EditInspired 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 EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Dennis M O Brien news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message O Brien became the Speaker of the House following deals between Republicans and Democrats Despite a one seat Democratic majority the Democratic leader Bill DeWeese was unable to garner the votes necessary to win back the Speakership due to some dissatisfaction within his own caucus because of his handling of matters as leader and notably due to the decision by one member in his caucus to vote for John Perzel the incumbent Speaker DeWeese nominated O Brien a Republican and a Perzel rival in a surprise move 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 EditO 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 EditThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately Find sources Dennis M O Brien news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Upon the election of 2008 the Democrats saw the opportunity to put their own in the Speaker s office Representative Keith McCall of Carbon County was elected Speaker with O Brien opting out of the race He was named the minority chairman of the House Committee on Children and Youth In addition to those responsibilities O Brien worked with the Department of Public Welfare to ensure implementation of Act 62 mandating autism insurance in Pennsylvania which he wrote and passed while he was the Speaker 2011 City Council election EditO Brien announced his intention to run for one of the minority seats on Philadelphia s City Council in 2011 He attorney David Oh and incumbent Frank Rizzo Jr were considered the clear favorites among the Republican contenders On May 17 2011 in spite of not being supported by any of the party organizations citation needed O Brien won one of the five GOP nominations for the City Council s at large seats with 17 32 of the vote Oh won 18 50 of the vote being first among the field of candidates while Rizzo was soundly defeated coming in 7th out of nine candidates a result some have attributed to his involvement in DROP the Deferred Retirement Option Plan O Brien went on to be the top finisher among the minority party candidates with an approximately 10 000 vote lead He was sworn into Council on January 2 2012 13 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 EditO 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 Edit 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 amp Special Election Archived from the original on December 17 2015 Retrieved December 16 2015 External links EditCity Councilman Denny O Brien profile phila govPhiladelphia City CouncilPreceded byFrank Rizzo Jr Member of the Philadelphia City Council for the At Large District2012 2016 Succeeded byAl TaubenbergerPolitical officesPreceded byJohn Perzel Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives2007 2008 Succeeded byKeith McCallPennsylvania House of RepresentativesPreceded byStephen Wodjak Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 169th District1977 1980 Succeeded byJohn SwaimPreceded byJohn Swaim Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 169th District1983 2012 Succeeded byEd Neilson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dennis M O 27Brien amp oldid 1131097845, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
