Jerry Knowles
Jerome P. Knowles (born July 30, 1948) is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 124th legislative district.[1] He was first elected in a special election in May, 2009 to fill the vacancy left by Dave Argall who was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate to succeed the late Senator James J. Rhoades. He defeated his Democratic opponent, Bill Mackey, with more than 70% of the vote.
Jerry Knowles | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 124th district | |
| Assumed office May 19, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Dave Argall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 30, 1948 Coaldale, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lorraine |
| Residence | Tamaqua, Pennsylvania |
Prior to his election to the state House, Knowles served as councilman and mayor of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania and later a Schuylkill County commissioner.
Political Positions
Knowles does not support legalizing adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania, calling it a "dangerous and illegal drug". He also does not support lessening the criminal penalties of cannabis possession. [2] In addition, he introduced a bill that would eliminate state funding to municipalities that support or operate safe injection sites for drug users. [3]
Although during the Covid-19 epidemic, Knowles put out a statement advocating for his constituents to stay vigilant,[4] he voted to end the Governor's emergency stay-at-home order[5] and pushed for the governor to ease restrictions on his county.[6] As public schools began to consider reopening for in-person classes, Knowles began soliciting co-sponsors for legislation that would roll back mandatory mask wearing in schools for young children. Instead, he believes the current mandate to be impractical and advocates for the decision to be made by individuals schools. [7]
He has received pushback from the LGBTQ+ community for his perceived homophobia. In March of 2020, he yelled at one of two openly gay lawmakers in the PA House of Representatives, calling him a "little girl" as he was speaking on the floor wearing a rainbow mask.[8] In 2018, he signed onto a letter asking to eliminate LGBTQ+ inclusive birth certificates. The letter asked that Pennsylvania resume issuing birth certificates with the parents listed under a "mother/ father" section, instead of the current "parent/ parent" section.
Campaigns
Knowles has not faced a Democratic challenger since 2010 when he ran against Jerry Faust (D). In 2012, he ran against independent candidate Dante Picciano and has not had a competitor in the general election since. Despite running unopposed in both the primary and general elections for 2014, 2016, and 2018, he raised $112,172, $67,962, and $70,667 for those campaigns respectively. In 2020, Knowles is running against Democratic opponent Taylor Picone. Knowles has raised $74,223 so far, with his two largest expenditures being Italian restaurants Roman Delight and Basile's.[9]
References
- http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=1193&body=H
- "Wolf's Call to Legalize Marijuana is Wrong, Says Knowles | PA State Rep. Jerry Knowles". www.repknowles.com.
- https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2019&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=2054. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - Heffley. "Carbon County Moving to 'Yellow' Phase, But Residents Must Remain Vigilant, Say Heffley, Yudichak, Knowles".
- https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2019&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_nbr=1406. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - Knowles, Jerry. "Schuylkill County Delegation Issues Statement On Remaining 'Red'".
- Knowles, Jerry. "Masks for Young School Students".
- https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/05/lawmaker-called-little-girl-republican-gave-speech-house-floor/. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - "Jerry Knowles".
External links
- State.pa.us, Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Jerry Knowles official PA House website
