George Gekas
George Gekas | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 17th district | |
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2003 | |
Preceded by | Allen E. Ertel |
Succeeded by | Tim Holden |
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 15th district | |
In office January 3, 1977 – December 31, 1982 | |
Preceded by | William Lentz |
Succeeded by | John Shumaker |
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 103rd district | |
In office January 7, 1969 – November 30, 1974 | |
Preceded by | Constituency establisheed |
Succeeded by | Stephen R. Reed |
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the Dauphin County district | |
In office January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1968 | |
Preceded by | ??? |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | George William Gekas April 14, 1930 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Dickinson College (BA) Dickinson School of Law (JD) |
Signature | ![]() |
Military service | |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1953-1955 |
George William Gekas (born April 14, 1930) is 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.
Early life and education
George Gekas was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from William Penn High School in 1948. He received a B.A. degree from Dickinson College in 1952 and a J.D. degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1958. He was a member of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955. He worked in a private law practice for two years and then served as assistant district attorney for Dauphin County from 1960 to 1966.[1]
Pennsylvania State House and Senate
In 1966, Gekas was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 103rd district.[2] He served there until 1974, when he was upset by future Harrisburg mayor Steven Reed in the anti-Watergate Democratic landslide. Gekas served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 15th district from 1977 to 1982.[3]
United States House of Representatives
After the 1980 census, Pennsylvania lost two congressional districts. The Republican-controlled legislature drew a newHarrisburg-based district that Gekas won in 1982 and was reelected to nine more times. He was one of the House managers in the impeachment trials of Alcee Hastings and President Bill Clinton.
2002 House Campaign
In a 2002 PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named "Missing in Action."[4] Pennsylvania lost two districts after the 2000 census. One of the districts that was eliminated was the Reading-based 6th District, represented by five-term moderate-to-conservative Democrat Tim Holden. The legislature split the 6th among three other districts, with the largest slice, including Holden's home in St. Clair, going to Gekas' 17th District.
Holden ran in the 17th, even though it was 65% new to him (a small portion of the even more Republican 9th District had been shifted to the 17th). On election night, Holden defeated Gekas by almost 6,000 votes. Gekas was the only Republican incumbent placed in a district with a Democratic incumbent to be defeated for re-election in 2002.[5]
After Congress
After his electoral defeat Gekas returned to Harrisburg where he established a law practice.[6]
References
- "Congressman George W. Gekas Biography". U.S. House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2002-12-25.
- ^ "Pennsylvania State Senate - George W Gekas Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - GEORGE W. GEKAS Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1981-1982" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
- ^ "Keystone State Yearbook Committee". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
- ^ Treadway, Jack M. (2005). Elections in Pennsylvania: A Century of Partisan Conflict in the Keystone State. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 212. ISBN 0-271-02703-7. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ Ershadi, Julie, May 6, 2013, "George Gekas: Life After Congress", Roll Call.
External links
Media related to George Gekas at Wikimedia Commons
- 1930 births
- 20th-century American lawyers
- 20th-century American politicians
- 21st-century American politicians
- American people of Greek descent
- County district attorneys in Pennsylvania
- Dickinson College alumni
- Living people
- Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania lawyers
- Pennsylvania Republicans
- Pennsylvania state senators
- Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- United States Army soldiers