Robert O’Donnell
Education Senior Fellow
The Honorable Robert W. O’Donnell is an Education Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation.
Bob is a Philadelphia-based attorney and a former Democratic Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. As a member of the House for 19 years, Bob rose through the ranks of leadership, serving as caucus chairman, majority whip, majority leader, and Speaker of the House. While in public service, he developed a reputation as a thoughtful, dynamic, and intellectually honest member of the House. He has been a consistent advocate for equality of opportunity including supporting school choice throughout his tenure in the legislature.
Bob has served as a member of Public Employees Retirement Study Commission, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, the Board of Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh, the Mayor’s Tax Budget and Advisory Committee (Philadelphia), the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the General State Authority, the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force (Philadelphia), the Millrite Council, and the Philadelphia Port Corporation Board of Directors.
He is a graduate of Temple University and its law school and attended The Hague Academy of International Law. Arcadia College and Philadelphia University awarded Bod honorary degrees, and he has received several public awards including citations from the Pennsylvania League of Cities Service and Common Cause.
Bob resides in Chestnut Hill with his wife, Dr. Donna Gentile O’Donnell.
State Budget
Can You Afford $1,000 More?
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a major tax increase. This vote will be, in all likelihood, on a proposal Gov. Tom…
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Speak Out About Gov. Wolf’s Tax Hikes
Budget 2015 Digital Ads Email Form…
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Wolf Truth Squad: Tax Hikes on Working Families
UPDATE: Gov. Wolf offered a new tax proposal on October 6, 2015. Here is a summary of that plan As noted yesterday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives…
Media
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The Mirage of Green Jobs
Promoters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon-emission regulation attempt to playdown the jobs it would kill with promises of “green jobs”. Yet these positions pay less and are largely…
Media
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Analysis: Wolf’s Latest Tax Plan Costs Families $1,000
Analysis: Wolf’s Latest Tax Plan Costs Families $1,000—Vote Next Week 14,000 Jobs Not Created as a Result October 1, 2015, HARRISBURG, Pa.—Next week, the state House plans…
Press Release
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Tax Hike Vote: Four Things to Know
UPDATE: Gov. Wolf offered a new tax proposal on October 6, 2015. Here is a summary of that plan Legislative leaders have promised that on Wednesday October 7,…
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Four Things to Know about Wolf’s September Tax Increase Proposal
On September 11, 2015, Gov. Tom Wolf presented legislative leaders with a second tax increase proposal—totaling$1.8 billion for the 2015-16 budget year, and a $3.2 billion net increase in 2016-17,…
Memo
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Wolf Veto = $11 Million Bill for Taxpayers
School districts have borrowed $346 million—and taxpayers will pay to pay up to $11 million in interest payments—as a result of Gov. Wolf’s budget vetoes, according to a report…
Media
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Analysis of Governor Wolf’s Budget Compromise
On September 16, 28 days after receiving a budget compromise proposal from legislative Republicans, Gov. Wolf rejected that offer and issued his own plan—to hire a private contractor to manage the government…
Fact Sheet
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Fresh Start, or Stale Policies of Decades Past?
At the beginning of 2015, we heard a lot about a “fresh start” for Pennsylvania. But nine months later, it's difficult to identify anything fresh about Gov. Wolf's tax, borrow…
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Wolf Blocks Education Funding, Issues 6th, 7th & 8th Vetoes
Wolf Blocks Education Funding, Issues 6th, 7th & 8th Vetoes Students, Disabled, & Struggling Held Hostage by Governor’s Tax-Hike Fixation September 29, 2015, HARRISBURG, Pa.—“The answer’s no. Now,…
Press Release
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Who Will Vote to Raise Your Taxes?
Republican leadership in the General Assembly has announced they will allow a floor vote on a budget proposal that has the massive tax increases Gov. Wolf and government union leaders desire—if Democrats…
Media
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Secret Contract Leaves Taxpayers in the Dark
In a special Friday night voting session, board members in Monessen School District unanimously approved a new teachers’ contract, which runs through 2018. The terms of the contract, including…
Media
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Government that Works?
Last week, Governor Wolf revved up his Jeep and resumed his “Government that Works” tour in Lancaster. In an ironic twist, Wolf also promised to veto a temporary funding bill…
Commentary
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Losers and Phony-Baloneys
Last week, Gov. Wolf unveiled new, bad policy ideas—to slightly adjust a misguided pension proposal, and to propose a private manager to a government run liquor monopoly. But just as…
Media
Read More: Losers and Phony-BaloneysPublic Union Democracy
Bringing Democracy to Pennsylvania Labor Unions
Government unions play a large role in influencing public spending and policies at the state and local level, but they are surprisingly undemocratic within their own organizations. The practice of…
Fact Sheet
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Audio: A Path of Compromise
Refusing to abandon his demands for the highest tax increase in state history, Gov. Wolf continues to fuel a budget impasse that has left human-services agencies and schools without…
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It’s Not Right That I Have to Pay Hundreds to Keep My Job
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One woman’s quest to free teachers
Rebecca Friedrichs never understood her union. As a new teacher, Friedrichs noticed a teacher in the classroom next to hers was abusive towards her students. When Friedrichs tried to…
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Audio: Protecting Teachers’ Rights and Paychecks
Teacher unions are taking money from teachers to fund political causes they do not support. Through Free to Teach, teachers like James Williams and Linda Misja are speaking…
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New Wolf Offer, Same Bad Policy
Yesterday, 28 days after receiving a budget compromise proposal from legislative Republicans, Gov. Wolf rejected that offer and issued his own plan—hiring a private contractor to manage the government liquor…
Media
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