In 1978, he made a successful campaign for the House, focusing on the poor attendance record of the Democratic incumbent, Francis Gleeson.
In November 2000, Perzel nearly suffered defeat when a wave of support for then-Vice President Al Gore brought out Democratic voters in Philadelphia in larger than expected numbers.
[citation needed] In a 2002 PoliticsPA Feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Hardest Working.
The pay raise opposition had used a 25-foot pink pig in its demonstrations, and the photograph was widely circulated in order to embarrass the Speaker.
In defending the pay raise, Perzel has made a number of controversial statements, including assertions that some cow-milkers and tattoo artists earned more than his members.
Perzel supported the 2003 tax increase proposed by Rendell as well as Act 71, the law that legalized slot machine gambling in Pennsylvania.
The Republican caucus created the new title of Speaker Emeritus which gave Perzel a role without displacing other members of the House leadership.
"[11] Perzel made a bid to return to the House GOP leadership after the 2008 elections, but was defeated by incumbent Sam Smith for the position of Minority Leader.
[12] On September 10, 2008 the office of then-State Attorney General Republican Tom Corbett announced that Perzel was under investigation for deals he made with the data firm Aristotle, Inc. during his tenure as Speaker of the House.
On September 11, 2008 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the contract contained specific references for gathering information related to election purposes and the distribution of yard signs.
[18] On March 21, 2012, Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Lewis sentenced Perzel to 30 months in prison and to pay one million dollars restitution to the state.