Candidate for
State Representative; Pennsylvania State House of Representatives; District 149

A native resident of Montgomery County, I currently reside in King of Prussia, PA with my wife Robyn and my four wonderful children, Emily, Jack, Alexandra and Morrison, and I am currently serving my second term as State Representative for the entire 149th Pennsylvania Legislative District.

During my time in the House, I have become a strong voice for kids as a positive, progressive voice in the Pennsylvania Legislature, and I've consistently advocated for public education, early childhood education and introduced legislation focused on improving the lives of children. As a freshman, I was able to get a law enacted that would help to keep siblings in foster care together when they are placed into foster homes. Some of the other issues I have worked on include addressing dangers student athletes face from concussions and improving gender equity in school sports. This past year, I was proud to have Governor Corbett sign a bill I authored, The Safety in Youth Sports Act, into law. In June 2012, I received the Award for Public Service by the Pennsylvania Psychologists Association for my work involving the passage of this act.

I serve as the Subcommittee Democratic Chairman on Transportation Safety within the Transportation Committee. I am vice chairman of the Policy Committee and sit on the Professional Licensure, Finance, and State Government committees. Additionally, I am a vice chairman of the Southeastern Democratic Delegation and co-chair of the House Life Sciences Caucus as well as vice chairman of the Select House Committee on Property Taxes.

In 2009, I received the Early Childhood Education Champion Award from the Montgomery County Child Care Consortium in appreciation for my advocacy and commitment to high quality early childhood education. Recently, Keystone Progress named me one of their 2011 Legislative Heroes for my progressive voting record.

I am a proud member of the Green Dog Caucus, a strong coalition of environmentally-conscience legislators in the House and in 2010 I was ranked the top environmental legislator in Pennsylvania by the Sierra Club's Pennsylvania Chapter. I consistently advocate for greener policies to create more environmentally friendly practices.

I have been recognized as a "2011 Legislative Heroes" by Keystone Progress for my votes supporting reproductive choice, education, taxing natural gas drilling, voting rights, and unemployment compensation and against anti-consumer "tort reform," and the "Castle Doctrine." I was also presented with the Freedom Keepers Award from Planned Parenthood.

Public service and community involvement have been priorities for me throughout my life. For several years, I served as a volunteer firefighter at Jefferson Fire Company in West Norriton Township and sat on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Montgomery County. Before serving in the House, I served as an advisor to then-Congressman Joe Hoeffel and State Sen. Connie Williams.

I am a proud graduate of the Pennsylvania State Higher Education System. I received my undergraduate degree in Political Science from West Chester University, and earned my law degree from Temple University's Beasley School of Law. In 2011, I was invited back to West Chester to serve as a Legislative Fellow providing lectures in the Political Science program.

I currently serve on the board of directors for the James A. Finnegan Fellowship Foundation, a statewide organization dedicated to providing scholarships, stipends and internships to Pennsylvania students with an interest in state government. I've been appointed to the Pennsylvania State Planning Board and am an ex-officio board member of the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association.