George Gekas

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.

George Gekas
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) Pennsylvania State University (JD)
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1953-1955

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.

Career

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 Legislature

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 and resulting redistricting. 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]

Later career

After his electoral defeat in 2002, 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.

1. "Pennsylvania State Senate - George W Gekas Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
2. "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - GEORGE W. GEKAS Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
3. Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1981-1982" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
4. "Keystone State Yearbook Committee". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
5. 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.
6. Ershadi, Julie, May 6, 2013, "George Gekas: Life After Congress", Roll Call.

External links

Media related to George Gekas at Wikimedia Commons

• United States Congress. "George Gekas (id: G000121)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• George Gekas on the issues
• The Political Graveyard