Chris Rabb | |
---|---|
Member of the PennsylvaniaHouseofRepresentatives from the 200th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Tonyelle Cook-Artis |
Personal details | |
Born | Chicago,Illinois,U.S. | February 21,1970
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Maurice Rabb Jr. (father) Billy Murphy Jr. (uncle) Madeline Wheeler Murphy (grandmother) John H. Murphy Sr. (great-great-grandfather) |
Education | Yale University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MS) |
Website | chrisrabb |
Christopher M. Rabb (born February 21,1970) is an American politician,professor,and author. A Democrat,he is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,representing the 200th District since 2017. [1] In a heavily Democratic district where winning the primary is tantamount to winning the election,he defeated the incumbent,who had the support of the Democratic establishment,in 2016. [2]
Rabb was born in Chicago,to an ophthalmologist and professor father,Maurice Rabb Jr.,and a politically active mother,Madeline Murphy Rabb. [3] [4] His maternal grandmother Madeline Wheeler Murphy,was a Baltimore-based community activist,and his maternal grandfather,William H. Murphy Sr,was a judge in Baltimore [5] Rabb's great-great-grandfather,John H. Murphy Sr.,was born a slave and founded the Baltimore Afro-American in 1892. [3]
Shortly after beginning his undergraduate education at Yale in 1988,Rabb was instrumental in the removal of an image of a shackled slave from the common room of Calhoun College (named after alumnus John C. Calhoun). In the process Rabb also learned he was a descendant of Philip Livingston. [6] Rabb received his bachelor's degree from Yale in 1992. [6] Rabb got a master's degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006. [7]
In the early 90s Rabb worked as an aide to former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun. [3] He then worked for the Clinton administration in the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. [3] Since moving to Philadelphia to obtain his master's at Penn,he has taught a business course at Temple University. [3] He published the non-fiction book Invisible Capital:How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity in 2010. [3]
In 2016,Rabb defeated the incumbent Tonyelle Cook-Artis in a three-way Democratic primary 47% to 40%,and then defeated Republican challenger Latryse McDowell 94% to 5% in the November general election. [8] He won the 2018 primary over challenger Melissa Scott 52%-48%,and has run unopposed since. [9]
Rabb serves on a number of House Committees,including Agriculture &Rural Affairs, [10] Commerce, [11] and the Judiciary. [12] [13] Rabb has put forward bills that would enable courts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to use restorative justice approaches to sentencing offenders, [12] [14] and introduced and passed bills in the Pennsylvania House to repeal the use of the death penalty (House Bill 999). [13]
In 2017,Rabb helped to found the Pennsylvania Climate Caucus. [15] [16] In 2024,Rabb introduced legislation to counter greenwashing,which is deceptive marketing that incorrectly suggests that a product is beneficial to the environment. According to the Center for Climate Integrity,the bill is the first of its type in the nation. [17] [18] [19]
On October 2,2021,Rabb authored a memo to all members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives indicating that he will be introducing legislation to enforce reproductive responsibility among men. According to the memo,the proposal would "require all inseminators to undergo vasectomies within 6 weeks from having their third child or 40th birthday,whichever comes first." Rabb's satirical [20] memo draws attention to the double-standard of regulating women's bodies via legislation while the equivalent bill affecting men would seem absurd. [21] [22] Rabb called the memo "parody legislation". [22]
Rabb has two sons and lives in East Mount Airy. [3]
James William Gerlach is the former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district, serving from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term.
Robert A. Brady is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district from 1998 to 2019. He was the ranking Democrat and Chairman of the United States House Committee on House Administration from 2007 to 2019. He has served as Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party since 1986 and is a registered lobbyist for NBC Universal and Independence Blue Cross.
Todd Russell Platts is an American attorney and Republican Party politician who serves as a Judge on the York County Court of Common Pleas and is a former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 19th congressional district, serving from 2001 to 2013.
Dwight Evans is an American politician serving as a U.S. representative from Pennsylvania since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 203rd district for over thirty-five years.
Michael Coyne Turzai is an American politician and former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who served as Speaker of the House. He is from Allegheny County and represented the 28th legislative district between 2001 and 2020. His district included the municipalities of Pine Township, Marshall Township, Bradford Woods, Franklin Park, and McCandless. Turzai served as the House Majority Leader from 2011 until 2015, and was elected Speaker in January 2015. He was a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2018 until he suspended his campaign in February 2018. He resigned from his House seat in 2020; after leaving office, he became general counsel for Peoples Gas, a subsidiary of Essential Utilities.
Garth David Everett was an American politician who served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 84th district from 2007 to 2020.
John T. Yudichak is an American politician who served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for 14th District from 2011 to 2022. He previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 119th district from 1999 to 2010. In 2024, Yudichak became the eighth president of Luzerne County Community College.
Mark Lucio Rozzi is an American politician who served as the 140th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from January to February 2023. A member of the Democratic Party he represented the 126th district from 2013 to 2024.
Aaron D. Kaufer is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 120th district from 2015 to 2024.
Arthur L. Haywood III is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 4th district since 2015. A Democrat, he is also the current president of the advocacy group Americans for Democratic Action.
Guy Lorin Reschenthaler is an American politician, attorney, judge, and U.S. Navy veteran. A Republican, he is the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district and was previously a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 37th district. He served as a district judge, and in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) during the Iraq War. He is serving as the Republican Chief Deputy Whip in the 118th Congress.
Cris E. Dush is an American politician. A Republican, he has been a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate since 2020, elected from the 25th District. From 2014 to 2020, Dush was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, elected from the 66th District, which then encompassed Jefferson County and Indiana County.
Donald "Bud" Cook is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, who has represented the 50th District since 2023. Prior to redistricting, Cook represented the 49th District from 2017 to 2022.
Francis Xavier Ryan is an American politician, accountant, and retired military officer who served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 101st District from 2017 to 2022.
Aaron Joseph Bernstine is an American politician who serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 8th District as a member of the Republican Party. Prior to redistricting he served from the 10th district.
Sara G. Innamorato is an American politician serving as the county executive of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania since 2024. She was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 21st district from 2019 to 2023.
Pamela Marie Iovino is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A Democrat, she was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 37th district and served from 2019 to 2020.
The 2022 elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 8, with 25 of 50 districts being contested. The term of office for those elected in 2022 would begin when the Senate convenes in January 2023. Pennsylvania State Senators are elected for four-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every two years. The election coincided with the 2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, United States House of Representatives elections, and the election of the entirety of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The 2022 elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives were held on November 8, 2022, with all districts currently being decided. The term of office for those elected in 2022 began when the House of Representatives convened in January 2023. Pennsylvania State Representatives are elected for two-year terms, with all 203 seats up for election every two years.
Christopher Raphael Deluzio is an American attorney, politician and former U.S. Navy officer serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district since 2023. The district includes most of the northwestern suburbs of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the Democratic Party.