Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
City & State
Among the many Pennsylvania political scene nuggets to digest this week, a pizza shop in Hatboro took the cake. After a video of a woman going on a racist tirade toward the owner of the shop went viral, the owners – Omar Quiñonez and his wife Kelyn Flores – were inundated with supportive calls from around the state and the world, including Germany, England, Poland, Spain and South America. Now that’s amoré!
Scroll down for more of this week’s Winners & Losers!
Joanna McClinton -
Harrisburg legislators ended Black History Month on Tuesday by electing the lower chamber’s second Black speaker and first female speaker in state history. State Rep. Joanna McClinton takes over the role from Mark Rozzi, who resigned after two months presiding over the state House. After accepting the gavel from Rozzi, McClinton said she’s prepared “to do the work off the floor so we have a very productive time when we are on the floor.”
Doug Mastriano & Katie Muth -
There was some M&M action in the Pennsylvania Capitol this week, but not the Tucker Carlson kind. Instead, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano and Democratic state Sen. Katie Muth joined forces to subpoena Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw about the East Palestine train derailment. Muth and Mastriano, two of the most vocal state lawmakers pressing the company over the derailment, have already hinted at more subpoenas.
Bob Casey -
Pennsylvania’s senior senator returned to the U.S. Senate this week after undergoing a procedure to treat prostate cancer on Feb. 14. Casey tweeted Monday that he was back in the chamber and “happy” to be back in Washington – and it’s certainly good news that Casey is not expected to need any additional treatment.
Mike Zabel -
It wasn’t the best week for state Rep. Mike Zabel. Service Employees International Union 32BJ Political Director Andi Perez and an anonymous state representative both accused Zabel of sexual harassment, prompting calls for his resignation from Perez and the House Republican Caucus. It’s unsure what Zabel’s future in the General Assembly looks like, but House Democratic leaders said in a statement that they are “concerned by the allegations we learned today, and take such accusations seriously.”
Bobby Henon -
Former Philadelphia City Council member Bobby Henon joined a growing list of city electeds that no one wishes to join: those convicted of crimes for actions while in office. Henon was sentenced to three and a half years in prison this week following his bribery conviction in a case the judge described as having “exposed the dirty underbelly of how Philadelphia politics works.”
Marc Muffley -
It’s nice to know family always has your back – and Marc Muffley’s case is no exception. Muffley was arrested earlier this week at the Lehigh Valley International Airport after officials allegedly identified an explosive in his luggage. One of Muffley’s relatives, who did not want to be named, denies Muffley’s wrongdoing, saying, “It’s nice the whole country thinks he’s smart enough to build a bomb … He’s just not that smart.”