8/3/2019 20080808 BC Times Gibbons and White Call for DeWeese to Step Down

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Gibbons, White also call for DeWeese to quit

J.D. Prose, Times Staff

Two area Democratic state legislators have joined a growing chorus calling for state House

Majority Leader Bill DeWeese to resign in the wake of the Bonusgate scandal thats rocked the

Democratic caucus.

State Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-10, Ellwood City, and state Rep. Jesse White, D-46, Cecil

Township, Washington County, both have demanded in recent days that DeWeese, of GreeneCounty, quit because the ongoing controversy has become a distraction and could hinder

legislative work on real issues.

I just think that in the end, he was the leader at that time, so there has to be someaccountability, Gibbons said Thursday. To me, theres the tenable fear that if they continue as

they are, we can be distracted from achieving a substantive agenda in the fall.

Gibbons would not go as far as to say DeWeese should resign from the House. DeWeese is

running for re-election, and Gibbons said his political future should rest in the hands of the

voters in his district.

White, whose district includes Frankfort Springs and Hanover Township in Beaver County,

didnt respond to a message left at his district office Thursday, but in a statement released

Wednesday, he said the scandal has severely limited the ability of legislators to act onimportant issues.

While praising DeWeese for his legislative accomplishments over the last 32 years, White saidhe couldnt accept that a systematic, inexcusable and indefensible violation of the public trust

occurred on his watch.

With Gibbons announcement, nine House members have called for DeWeese to either resign as

majority leader or quit the House altogether.

However, two other area legislators state Rep. Chris Sainato, D-9, Union Township,

Lawrence County, and state Rep. Vince Biancucci, D-15, Center Township criticized the anti-

DeWeese movement Thursday.

Biancucci said the calls for DeWeeses resignation smack of grandstanding, although he

acknowledged DeWeese shouldve been aware of what was going on under his watch.

I just think that were overreacting at this time, Biancucci said.

New leaders can be picked in a few months after the election, said Sainato, whose districtincludes Darlington and Darlington Township. I agree with Vince. A lot of this is political

grandstanding. Bills going to have to face the caucus in November.

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Sainato, who voted against DeWeese being majority leader, said legislators should spend their

remaining session addressing problems facing the state.

We need to let the process play itself out, he said.

Gibbons, though, said calls for DeWeeses resignation will probably increase as worried

Democratic House members launch re-election bids in the shadow of the corruption scandal.

There is a bit of a political issue here for all of us, he said.