From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Democratic Policy Chairman Todd Eachus defeated Rep. Frank Dermody of Oakmont, the caucus secretary, by a 60 to 42 vote to become majority leader.

“Here was a chance for change,” Dermody said. “That’s not what happened.”

Eachus, 46, elected to the House in 1996, has been on the forefront of House Democrats’ efforts to provide health care to uninsured Pennsylvanians. As chairman of the House Democratic Campaign Committee, Eachus helped Democrats bolster their majority in the November election.

He angered some Democrats in 2007 by approving a $40,000 withdrawal from a committee account to help pay the campaign debt of ex-Whip Mike Veon of Beaver Falls, then a lobbyist. Veon was indicted in July for masterminding a scheme to use legislative staffers for political work at the Capitol.

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