Jerald M. "Jerry" Birmelin (born April 18, 1949) is an American politician who formerly served as a Republican 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 ...

. He is a 1967 graduate of Lake Ariel High School. He earned a degree in education from University of Scranton in 1973. He was first elected to represent the 139th legislative district in the

in 1984. During his career, Birmelin was known for his Pro-life stand on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and for his opposition to

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. He retired prior to the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidenti ...

. Birmelin voted in favor of the controversial legislative pay raise, passed in the middle of the night without debate or public comment, inspiring several candidates to challenge him in the 2006 election. Several of these candidates were affiliated with PACleanSweep, a statewide effort to defeat any legislators voting for the pay raise. On January 26, 2006, Birmelin joined 26 of his colleagues and announced that he would not seek re-election. Pike County treasurer,

Michael Peifer Michael T. "Mike" Peifer (born 1968) is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 139th legislative district. He was first elected in 2006. Prior to elective office, Peifer attended Wallenpaupack Area H ...

went on to win the Republican nomination and won the election. Following retirement from the House, Birmelin began his own political consulting firm, Birmelin Consulting, and assisted Chris Hackett in his 2008 campaign for

Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district is located in the south-central region of the state. It encompasses all of Dauphin County as well as parts of Cumberland County and York County. The district includes the cities of Harrisburg and York. ...

against

Chris Carney Christopher P. Carney (born March 2, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Carney is also an associate professor of political science at Penn State Worthi ...

. A decade after leaving the House, Birmelin ran in 2016 as a Republican candidate for District 111 of the

. Birmelin was defeated in the 2016 Republican Primary Election by Jonathan Fritz.

References

External links

* Official PA House profile (archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Birmelin, Jerry 1949 births Living people Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives University of Scranton alumni People from Honesdale, Pennsylvania