Ernest P. "Ernie" Kline (June 20, 1929 – May 13, 2009) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and the 25th

lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

, serving from 1971 to 1979.

Early life, career

Kline was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and grew up in the Webster neighborhood of

Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania Rostraver Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 11,374 at the 2020 census. History Rostraver Township is in the southwestern corner of Westmoreland County and is the location of the Househo ...

. He attended Rostraver High School, where he was the starting quarterback and graduated in 1947. He attended

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

, but was unable to afford completing his degree. He took a career in radio news broadcasting in Charleroi,

Connellsville Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,637 at th ...

, Kittanning, and at WBVP-AM in Beaver Falls. He entered politics after covering city council; he was elected to the Beaver Falls City Council in 1955. In 1961, he was appointed to be a workers' compensation referee for Beaver,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

Counties.

Politics

He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1964, taking office in 1965. In August 1967, he was elected Democratic Floor Leader, becoming the youngest person to hold that position. He was elected

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

on the

Milton Shapp Milton Jerrold Shapp (born Milton Jerrold Shapiro; June 25, 1912 – November 24, 1994) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 40th governor of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania. H ...

gubernatorial ticket in November 1970. As a Western Pennsylvanian, Kline provided balance to the Democratic ticket, which had Philadelphian

. Kline held that position from 1971 to 1979. He was the first Lieutenant Governor to live in State House, the Lieutenant Governor's official residence. He served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. He is credited for taking steps to establish the Governor's Energy Council during the 1973 oil crisis and for leading the

Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, also known as PEMA, is an independent cabinet-level agency in Pennsylvania tasked with the response to, preparedness for, recovery from, and the mitigation or prevention of disasters (natural and otherwi ...

. He ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1978, but lost a highly contested primary to

Peter Flaherty Peter Francis Flaherty (June 25, 1924 – April 18, 2005) was an American politician and attorney. He served as assistant district attorney of Allegheny County from 1957 to 1964, a member of the Pittsburgh City Council from 1966 to 1970, the 54th ...

, who eventually lost to Dick Thornburgh.

Later life and death

Kline retired from political life after his stint as lieutenant governor and served as a

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

. He lived in

Palmyra, Pennsylvania Palmyra (Pennsylvania German: ''Pallemschteddel'') is a borough in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Lebanon, Pennsylvania Metropolitan statistical area. The population was 7,807 at the 2020 census. Geography Palmyra ...

until his death in 2009 at the age of 79.

References

External links

Pennsylvania State Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Ernest P. 1929 births 2009 deaths American radio reporters and correspondents Duquesne University alumni Pennsylvania lobbyists Lieutenant Governors of Pennsylvania Politicians from Allentown, Pennsylvania People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania People from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators 20th-century American politicians People from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania