The Philly region has a lot more power in Harrisburg now that Dems control the House. Here’s why.

The numbers in Harrisburg don’t lie — and for the first time in more than a decade, they look good for Philadelphia.

Democrats have been in the minority in the state House for 24 of the last 27 years. It’s been 12 years since Democrats held the majority, and in turn, the ability to shape what life is like for Pennsylvanians.

In that time, the collar counties surrounding Philadelphia have flipped reliably blue. Now, almost 60% of the 101 House Democrats hail from one corner of the state: the southeast.

The regional strength grows as you take a closer look: A quarter of all House Democrats come from Philadelphia. The top three House leaders come from the southeast, two of whom are from Philadelphia. Southeastern representatives will serve as chairs on at least half of the state’s standing committees with the immense power of deciding which legislation gets considered. And most notably: Gov. Josh Shapiro is a Montgomery County native.

With top leaders from the region — and the overall strength in numbers — the area is poised to bring more resources home to their districts and have a heavier hand in what policies become law, experts said.

“Philly has a dynamic, has a voice in Harrisburg that it probably hasn’t had in a while,” said Dan Mallinson, a political science professor at Penn State Harrisburg.

Rep. Morgan Cephas, the Philadelphia delegation chair, hopes the number of House Democrats from the region should make it possible to make “big transformations” for the city.

“This puts us in a position to deliver,” Cephas added. “We’re all laser-focused on our agenda to help move the needle.”

Cephas and other Philly Democrats on Friday outlined some of those goals. The “Philadelphia Platform” sets the top policy and budget priorities they want to bring home from Harrisburg, such as increasing the minimum wage to $18 an hour and addressing deferred maintenance in school buildings, among other long-sought policy goals.

What’s more: Philly’s own House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Appropriations Chair Jordan Harris — plus Montgomery County native Majority Leader Matt Bradford — will all be at the table for budget negotiations this year with Shapiro and the GOP-controlled Senate.

But the Philadelphia delegation’s wish list will still have to clear several hurdles to become reality. With a razor-thin House majority — 101-100, excluding two vacancies — leaders will need to whip every Democratic vote to pass legislation.

Garnering 100% support from every Democrat could be challenging on some regional issues like fracking, Mallinson said.

“Gridlock is still going to rule the day in Harrisburg,” Mallinson added.

Rep. Jennifer O’Mara (D., Delaware), who chairs the southeast delegation, said in an email that her caucus will advance policies that help all Pennsylvanians, not just the region.

“More often than not, that means supporting a House Democrat, and when we stand together House Democrats can get it done — not just for Delco and Philly and the southeast, but for everyone,” O’Mara said.

(The southeast delegation includes representatives from Lancaster and York Counties that The Inquirer did not include in its analysis.)

Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) was first elected in 1993, spending almost all of his nearly 30 years in the minority party. He was appointed chair of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee this year, and said he’s a lot more popular in the halls of the Capitol among lobbyists who suddenly want to shake his hand. And he’s working a lot more.

“Being in the majority is a lot more work,” Vitali said. “My afternoons are a lot less leisurely. I probably would’ve taken a bike ride in this nice weather, but nope, we’re going to stay until the end of the day and work into the night.”

House Democrats will also need to compromise with the GOP-controlled Senate before they can send bills to Shapiro’s desk to be signed into law.

Vitali said he plans to run his committee opposite to his predecessor, former Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R., Butler), who denied the existence of climate change and publicly stated he would not consider any bills whose prime sponsor is a Democrat.

“It was frustrating, and that’s not the way I intend to act at all,” Vitali said. “I don’t expect our committee to proceed the way it did last term.”

Instead, Vitali said he’d seek out bills with sound environmental policy from Republicans as a way to ensure they have an easier time passing the GOP Senate, in addition to advancing some of his long-sought policy goals like increasing funding for the Department of Environmental Protection’s site workers.

Just days into their new majority, southeast Democrats had to grapple with their new power and responsibilities, after three people publicly accused former Rep. Mike Zabel (D., Delaware) of sexual harassment. House leadership, in a statement, admitted that Democratic leaders at the time knew about the allegations back to 2019. House Democratic leaders never publicly called for Zabel to resign.

With Zabel’s resignation and lawmakers out of voting session until the end of April, House Democrats have turned their focus to ongoing budget hearings. And the region’s lawmakers want to use this time to make the case for Philadelphia.

“I’m a firm believer [Philadelphia is] the economic engine of the state,” Cephas said. “If we are not operating in every single zip code at max capacity, then we are shortchanging the rest of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. So we almost have an obligation to deliver for Philadelphia.”

An earlier version of story misstated Rep. Matt Bradford’s title. He is the Democratic majority leader.