Bryan Roy Lentz (born June 5, 1964) is an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He served as a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 161st legislative district from 2007 to 2010. He was the 2010 Democratic nominee for

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for . He was an officer in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and served in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and during peacekeeping missions in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

. He worked as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia from 1993 to 1999. He led the Philadelphia Gun Violence Task Force in 2011 and currently serves as chairman of the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission.

Early life, education and career

Lentz was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, to Martin and Bonnie Minehart Lentz. His father worked in 1962 to help

desegregate Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. He graduated from

Wissahickon High School Wissahickon High School is the sole public high school of the Wissahickon School District, and is located in Ambler, Pennsylvania. The school is recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Educati ...

and from

Valley Forge Military Academy and College Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional military school format with army traditions. Though military in tr ...

in 1984. He graduated with a degree in philosophy from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1986 on a full army scholarship. Lentiz is a fourth generation army veteran. After graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army infantry and was assigned to the Second Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

Fort Bragg, NC Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cu ...

. Lentz served overseas in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, where he commanded a Civil Affairs unit assisting with improving the infrastructure and rebuilding civil governance of

Mosul, Iraq Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

. Lentz also served with the

Multinational Force and Observers The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The MFO generally operates in and around the Sinai peninsula, ensuring free navigation through ...

in the Sinai Peninsula and with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. He earned the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Lentz earned a J.D. degree from

Temple University School of Law The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly comp ...

in 1993. He has worked as attorney in private practice and for six years as a prosecutor in the

District Attorney's Office.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

In 2006, he planned to run for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in the

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district includes all of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties; and parts of Monroe County. The district is represented by Democrat Susan Wild. From 2013 through 2018, the district incorporated parts of the ...

against

Curt Weldon Wayne Curtis Weldon (born July 22, 1947) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. He was defeated in November 2006 ...

. After discussions with party officials, however, Lentz decided to bow out in favor of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Joe Sestak Joseph Ambrose Sestak Jr. (born December 12, 1951) is an American politician and retired United States Department of the Navy, U.S. Navy officer. He represented in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from ...

. Instead, he ran for the State House. He defeated incumbent

Tom Gannon Thomas P. Gannon (April 5, 1943 – January 10, 2021) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 161 from 1979 to 2006. Early life and education Gannon was ...

with 51.5% of the vote. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Lentz won reelection to the State House, defeating Republican challenger Joe Hackett, and increasing his share of the vote to 55.4%. Lentz was not a candidate for reelection to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2011.

2010 U.S. congressional campaign

Lentz ran against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee

Pat Meehan Patrick Leo Meehan (born October 20, 1955) is a former American Republican Party politician and federal prosecutor from Pennsylvania who represented parts of Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties in the United States Ho ...

and American Congress Party nominee Jim Schneller. On November 12, 2009, Lentz announced his candidacy for . He sought to replace

, the two-term Democratic incumbent who ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. Lentz ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the Democratic primary on May 18, 2010. Meehan won the general election with 54.9% of the vote, while Lentz received 44.0%; Schneller ended up with 1.1%.

Tea Party controversy

On October 19, 2010, Lentz acknowledged that he had been aware that some supporters were circulating petitions in support of Jim Schneller, a self-described "Tea Party candidate" officially running on the American Congress Party Ticket, an effort which his opponents describe as an attempt to split the conservative vote. Lentz said he did not encourage Schneller to enter the race, and that he does not believe that assisting Schneller circulate his petitions was improper. In 2011, Lentz led the Philadelphia Gun Violence Task Force which received state funding in order to "attack the proliferation of illegal guns on city streets". In 2016, Lentz was nominated to the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission by Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...

and currently serves as chairman. Lentz is an attorney at the law firm of Bochetto & Lentz.

References

External links

Bryan Lentz for U.S. Congress
''official Congressional campaign site'' * *
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lentz, Bryan 1964 births 21st-century American politicians United States Army personnel of the Gulf War American prosecutors Georgetown University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni United States Army officers Valley Forge Military Academy and College alumni 20th-century American lawyers