La Salle Alum Elected Pennsylvania Speaker of House

Dennis O'Brien, a 1983 graduate of La Salle University, is the new Speaker of the House for the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives.

O'Brien, who earned a BA in Labor Relations, became involved in politics while still a student.

He delayed his education to run the campaign of a candidate for a seat in the State legislature. After that, he ran as a candidate himself. After losing that race, he returned to La Salle to obtain his degree. Later, he ran again for a seat in the State Legislature and won.

O'Brien's most recent visit to campus was in November to participate in a panel on The Jessica Lundford Act, which also included Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham and La Salle's Director of Security and Safety Art Grover, who is a retired captain of the Philadelphia Police Department. The act is named for a nine-year old girl who was killed by a man with prior convictions for sex crimes.

Before his election as Speaker, O'Brien was a member of the legislature's judiciary committee, where he advocated many bills dealing with crime-fighting, support for families with autistic children and victim's rights.

A lifetime citizen of Philadelphia and Republican, O'Brien has represented the city's 169th Legislative District (in the Northeast section) for more than 25 years.