Jeffrey E. Piccola (born May 16, 1948) 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, ...

who served as a

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 ...

member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the 15th District from 1995 to 2012 including as Republican Whip from 2001 to 2006. He also served as a 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 104th District from 1977 to 1995.

Early life and education

Piccola was born in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

to Anthony J. and Betty Jane Piccola. He graduated from the

Susquehanna Township High School Susquehanna Township High School (STHS) is a mid-sized, public high school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania serving students from Susquehanna Township. The school provides grades 9 through 12. In the 2017–18 school year, the school had 788 p ...

in 1966. He received a B.A. degree from

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

in 1970 and a J.D. degree from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

in 1973. From 1973-74, he served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and became a first lieutenant. He has worked as an attorney at the Harrisburg law firm of Boswell, Tintner & Piccola since 1973.

Career

Piccola served as a member of the

for the 104th district from 1977 to 1995. He served as a member of the

for the 15th district from 1995 to 2012. He was made Majority Caucus Administrator of the State Senate in 1999. In 2001, he was elected Senate

Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

. He was considered a " ader of the impatient hard right wing of the Pennsylvania Republican Senate." In 2002, the political website

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the we ...

named him to the list of "Smartest Legislators," saying that he was known for being " ticulate and quick on his feet." In a 2002

feature story A feature story is a piece of non-fiction writing about news. A feature story is a type of soft news. The main sub-types are the ''news feature'' and the ''human-interest story''. A feature story is distinguished from other types of non-news ...

designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Most Likely to Succeed." In 2005, Piccola announced that he would run for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, seeking the Republican nomination against incumbent Democratic Governor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...

. Piccola dropped out of the race for governor in early 2006, after it became clear that former professional football player

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served on the ...

had earned the support of most of the

Pennsylvania Republican Party The Pennsylvania Republican Party (PAGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg. History Founding The party was founded on November 27, 1854, in Towanda ( Bradford County) b ...

. Following the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

elections, Piccola gave up his position as Senate Whip, and instead made a bid to become

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the State Senate, after the sitting president pro tempore, Bob Jubelirer, lost the Republican Primary in his home district. State Senate Republicans ultimately chose Senator

Joe Scarnati Joseph B. Scarnati III (born January 2, 1962) is an American politician from the U.S. State of Pennsylvania. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Pennsylvania State Senate as the member from the 25th District from 2001 to 2020, a ...

for the president pro tempore position instead of Piccola. Piccola was replaced as Republican Whip by Jane Orie.Tom Barne
"Sen. Orie wins leadership post"
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 21, 2006. Piccola considered running for a spot on the

State Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

in 2007 but withdrew after he was unable to secure support for the state committee endorsement. In 2009, the ''Pennsylvania Report'' noted that Piccola had been "left for dead" after the 2006 leadership election, but was able to return to a leadership role as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. In 2012, he received a public reprimand from the Disciplinary Board of the

due to his conduct as a private attorney. He was reprimanded for violations to the code of conduct for lawyers by representing a Utah-based "heir-hunting" firm while also representing three clients involved in estate settlements. The public reprimand was the result of an agreement that allowed Piccola to keep his lawyer license and the dismissal of more serious charges of fraud, dishonesty and champery. Piccola did not seek re-election in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and was succeeded by Democrat Rob Teplitz.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piccola, Jeffrey 1948 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American people of Italian descent George Washington University Law School alumni Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Gettysburg College alumni Pennsylvania lawyers Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania United States Air Force officers