One thing Pennsylvania legislators can agree on: this 47-year employee
HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA) — Members of Pennsylvania's General Assembly come and go every two years – sometimes more often than that, for reasons good and bad.
But the person in charge of helping them understand legislative history — and sometimes being the bearer of what they consider bad news — has been doing that since 1975, including for most of the past decade as director of the Pennsylvania Legislative Research Bureau.
What's so special about Vince DeLiberato?
"There's nothing about the Legislative Reference Bureau that he doesn't know, that he can't share with you," said Stephanie Latimore, the bureau's assistant director.
Latimore has been at the bureau for 31 years. That's a long time compared to most Americans, in a country where workers have a median tenure of four years at their current jobs, but "definitely not compared to Vince," Latimore said.
She said DeLiberato stands out for more than just his knowledge and his 47-year tenure.
"Everybody who knows Vince – they all have great things to say about him," Latimore said.
That includes legislators from both parties, she said, who don't agree on much else.
DeLiberato said the bureau needs to be – and is – strictly non-partisan. But in a state that's closely divided in more ways than one, DeLiberato's professed lack of bias doesn't extend to sports. He proudly displays Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles championship pennants – his "prized possessions" – in his office.
DeLiberato said he plans to work for two more years. He knows now more than ever, someone starting a job today isn't likely to be working at the same place nearly a half-century from now.
But he said even people who plan to stay just a year or two at their current jobs should adopt one part of his philosophy: "You make a full commitment, and you should be proud of everything you did that day."
Commitment in terms of effort for however long you're there, in other words, even if not in terms of length of tenure.
"There's only one Vince, and there's never going to be another Vince," Latimore said.