10 things about Jim Gerlach
1. He is a lifelong Pennsylvania resident, born and raised in Ellwood City, a small town near the Ohio border.
2. In 1977, Gerlach graduated cum laude from Dickinson College, majoring in political science. Three years later, he graduated from Dickinson's law school.
3. He is married and has three children and three stepchildren.
4. He has spent the past 15 years in public office representing southeastern Pennsylvania, serving two terms as a state representative, beginning in 1990, then two terms as a state senator.
5. He won his first race for state representative by 23 votes.
6. In the Pennsylvania legislature, he made his name as a lead sponsor of the state's welfare reform law enacted in 1996.
7. Gerlach was elected to Congress in 2002 to represent part of suburban Philadelphia. He won a tight race against Dan Wofford, the son of a former senator, with just 51 percent of the vote. A loss would have been an embarrassment for the Republican state legislators who, in 2002, drew the district intending for Gerlach to run; it became known as the "Gerlach seat."
8. He was the prime sponsor of legislation signed into law in 2003 to create a national veterans cemetery in southeastern Pennsylvania, but the latest plans have the cemetery located in a neighboring congressional district.
9. The 2004 race was a nail-biter, with Gerlach winning again with 51 percent of the vote against challenger Louis Murphy. His was the smallest margin of victory for any incumbent who won re-election in 2004.
10. He makes his own chili.
advertisement
