“In Harrisburg, I passed more bills than all the Democrats combined, in terms of legislation affecting the city.”
— State Rep. John Taylor
That declaration, by a Republican lawmaker, about
his ability to benefit the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia, may sound
like just another phony political boasts. It is not.
BillyPenn writer Mark Dent checked it out and
here’s what he found:
here’s what he found:
State representative John Taylor is the rarest of Philadelphia’s elected officials: He’s a Republican. More than that, he’s a Republican liked by the unions, a Republican liked by Mayor Jim Kenney.
Taylor told City & State PA last week he’s done something that makes him stand out even more among Philadelphia’s politicians: “In Harrisburg, I passed more bills than all the Democrats combined, in terms of legislation affecting the city.”
We’re talking about one representative versus 23 Democratic representatives. Could he really have passed more bills than all of them combined?
First, we asked Taylor what time frame he was referring to. He said he meant this two-year term, from 2015 to present, given the article in which he was quoted focused on his bid for re-election against Democrat Joe Hohenstein.
To test Taylor’s statement, we turned to the Legislature’s website, which tracks every bill sponsored by members of the state House and Senate. And it turns out Taylor is dead on.
This term he’s been the primary sponsor of five bills that have passed into law, four of which have at least some relevance to Philadelphia. All 23 Philly Democrat representatives have been the primary sponsor of a combined two bills that have passed into law.
The only two Democrats to sponsor bills that passed are Kevin Boyle and Bill Keller. Keller’s bill was about renaming portions of highways and streets in the area. Boyle’s had to do with emergency vehicles. Democrats Ed Neilson, Dwight Evans and Lynwood Savage haven’t even been a prime sponsor for a bill, period.
“I don’t how far back that statistic would hold up,” Taylor said of his passing more bills than the Democrats, “but it is certainly true for this term. And frankly it would be true for the next term.”
With that reference to the future, Taylor refers to the likelihood that Republicans will continue to hold power in the Senate and House. He said Republican leadership, which dominates the various committees, tends to emphasize their members ahead of the other party, meaning Republican-sponsored bills have a better chance of passing than Democrat-sponsored bills.
“I was in the minority for 10 years,” Taylor said. “You could come up with the cure for cancer and it would get put aside or it would come out with the Democratic name on it.”
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