Unlike their Senate counterparts, the House Republicans Tuesday worked quickly in choosing their new leaders heading into next month?s General Assembly session.
Del. Anthony O?Donnell, R-Calvert, who had been the minority?s chief vote counter and firebrand floor speaker, was elected as the party?s leader in the House of Delegates. He succeeds Del. George Edwards, who was elected to the state Senate. Del. Christopher Shank, R-Washington County, was picked to fill O?Donnell?s old seat.
“We had a healthy discussion, we?re unified, and we look forward to representing the loyal opposition,” O?Donnell said after emerging from a more than four-hour discussion and voting session with House Republicans. Senate Republicans picked their new leadership team Monday after multiple deadlocked votes and weeks of discussion.
Prior to the vote, a group of lawmakers mounted a campaign to put Del. Wade Kach, R-Baltimore County, in the leader?s chair. Kach?s supporters argued his more conciliatory style would be more effective. The Kach camp argued O?Donnell?s aggressive leadership style would not help the minority party in the wake of an election that toppled Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich and eliminated a handful of Republican seats in the legislature. Kach, a 31-year veteran of the House of Delegates, said he was optimistic despite his loss that the minority could still have an effective voice in the General Assembly.
“I think we can have an impact,” he said. “I think we can continue to make an impact in committee … when you listened to the debate in the caucus, it was all about unity.”
O?Donnell said his party would look for ways to cooperate with the Democratic majority.
“We will be respectful, we will look for collegiality, but on matters of principle we will be aggressive,” he said.
