M. Joseph Rocks | |
---|---|
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 4th district | |
In office 1983 –November 30, 1990 | |
Preceded by | Joseph F. Smith |
Succeeded by | Allyson Schwartz |
Member of the PennsylvaniaHouseofRepresentatives from the 199th district | |
In office January 2,1979 –1982 | |
Preceded by | John Hamilton |
Succeeded by | John Broujos |
Personal details | |
Born | June 6,1947 |
Political party | Republican (until 1982) Democratic (1982–1989) Republican (1989–present) |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Community College of Philadelphia (AS) University of Iowa (BA) |
M. Joseph Rocks (born June 6,1947) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 4th district from 1983 to 1988 and as a Republican member of the same Senate district from 1988 to 1990. He also served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,District 199 from 1979 to 1982. [1] [2]
Rocks was born in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania to Joseph F. and Catherine (Gilchrist) Rocks. He graduated from West Catholic Boys High School in 1965. He received an A.S. degree from Community College of Philadelphia in 1967. He served in the U.S. Army Security Agency from 1967 to 1971 and studied German at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey,California. [3] He received a B.A. degree from the University of Iowa in 1972. [4]
Rocks was elected as a Republican to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 199th district and served from 1979 to 1982. [5] He changed party affiliation to Democratic in 1982 and was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 4th district and served from 1983 to 1987. He switched party affiliation again to Republican and served in the Senate from 1988 to 1990. [4]
He was a Philadelphia mayoral candidate in 1995. [5] During his time in the Pennsylvania State Senate,Rocks,created the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority board to monitor all spending by then mayor Wilson Goode and the city council. All money spent by the city government had to be approved by the board. Rocks ran for Philadelphia City Controller in 1989,where he lost to Democrat Jonathan Saidel. [6] Rocks also ran as a Republican for mayor in 1995,losing to incumbent Ed Rendell.
Throughout his career in politics,Rocks was known as a fighter and an aggressive campaigner. His campaign against Allyson Schwartz in 1990,when he lost his State Senate seat,was particularly bitter, [7] with negative campaigning from both sides. Among the more wild accusations was the assertion from the Schwartz campaign that Rocks had an alcohol problem and engaged in promiscuous behavior. The comments had apparently been prepared as a joke by a staffer,released accidentally,and Schwartz apologized,but the campaign became increasingly acrimonious from that point forward.
After leaving politics,Rocks became the CEO of Northwestern Human Services (NHS) from 2000 to 2014. [8]
He lives outside of Philadelphia,where he moved from his home in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia during his term. He has three children,and a few grandchildren.
Joseph Sill Clark Jr. was an American writer,lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as the 90th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1952 to 1956 and as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1969. Clark was the only Unitarian Universalist elected to a major office in Pennsylvania in the modern era.
Allyson Schwartz is an American Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015 and Northeast and Northwest Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1991 to 2005. She has finished second in a statewide Democratic Party primary twice:for United States Senate in 2000 and for Governor in 2014.
George William Gekas was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district from 1983 to 2003.
William Scott Vare was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district from 1912 to 1927. He also served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 1st Senatorial District from 1922 to 1923. He won election to the United States Senate for Pennsylvania in 1926 but was never seated and was eventually removed in 1929 due to allegations of corruption and voter fraud.
Boies Penrose was an American politician from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,who served as a Republican member of the United States Senate for Pennsylvania from 1897 to 1921. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Philadelphia County district in 1885. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 6th district in 1897 and as President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1889 to 1891.
Charles Francis Dougherty is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district from 1979 to 1983.
The 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 7,2000,during a year which coincided with a United States presidential election in which Pennsylvania was viewed as a swing state. Pennsylvania was one of four states that elected Republican Senators despite being won by Al Gore in the concurrent presidential election,the others being Maine,Rhode Island and Vermont.
LeAnna M. Washington is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 4th district from 2005 to 2014. She served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,District 200 from 1993 to 2005. She resigned in 2014 after being charged with a felony for using campaign staff and state resources to plan her birthday party fundraiser.
Joseph Conti is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 143rd district from 1993 to 1996 and the Pennsylvania Senate for the 10th district from 1997 to 2006. He was formerly the chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and was appointed to that newly created position on December 13,2006. He currently works as the President of the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.
Bruce S. Marks is an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 2nd district from 1994 to 1995.
Robert A. Rovner was an American politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 6th district from 1971 to 1974.
Wilmot E. Fleming was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Montgomery County district from 1963 to 1964 and the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 12th district from 1964 to 1978.
Joseph M. Uliana is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 135th district from 1991 to 1994 and the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 18th district from 1995 to 1998.
Earl Mancill Baker was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 19th district from 1989 to 1995. Baker also served twelve years as a member of the Chester County Board of Commissioners,and as Chairman of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania from 1986 to 1990.
Morton H. Fetterolf,Jr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Montgomery County district from 1957 to 1964 including as Majority Whip from 1963 to 1964. He also served in the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 12th district in 1964. He was elected to the state senate on April 28,1964 and resigned on July 2,1964.
The Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on November 2,2010. The winning candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor will serve a four-year term from 2011 to 2015. In Pennsylvania,the Lieutenant Governor is elected on the same ticket as the Governor,so the only campaign for this office was the primary election. As a result of Tom Corbett's election to the position of governor,Jim Cawley became the new Lieutenant Governor.
Jonathan A. Saidel is a politician from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. He is a former Philadelphia city controller.
The 2014 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania,concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on Tuesday,November 4,2014,to elect the 18 U.S. representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections,including the Governor of Pennsylvania and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Auditor General election of 2020 took place on November 3,2020. Primary elections were originally due to take place on April 28,2020. However,following concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic the primaries were delayed until June 2,2020. Under the Pennsylvania Constitution incumbent Democratic Auditor General Eugene DePasquale was ineligible to seek a third consecutive term.