Timothy J. Solobay (born March 20, 1956) is a Pennsylvania politician who served as the Fire Commissioner of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2017. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he previously served as a 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 ...

Formative years

Born in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

on March 20, 1956, Solobay graduated from the Washington Hospital School of Radiologic Technology (

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

) in 1976. He received a B.S. in Radiologic Technology from

California University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Western University, California (commonly known as PennWest California) is a public university campus in California, Pennsylvania and one of three campuses of Pennsylvania Western University, part of the Pennsylvania State System o ...

in 1984 and a B.S. in Business Management from an online program through the

California Coast University California Coast University (CCU) is a private for-profit online university based in Santa Ana, California. It is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission and approved by the State of California. Approximately 8,000 student ...

in 1990. (

was not nationally accredited at the time he was taking online classes there; however, it was accredited by the State of California, and gained national distance learning accreditation in 2005.)

Public service career

Solobay is the chief of the

Canonsburg Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

Volunteer Fire Department, and he was formerly 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 ...

before his election to the Pennsylvania Senate. He was defeated for re-election to the state senate in 2014 by Republican

Camera Bartolotta Camera Chatham Bartolotta is an American politician. A Republican, she is currently the Pennsylvania state Senator for the 46th district. Prior to being elected to the Senate in the 2014 election, she opened the first quick-lube business in the ...

. He was then named the new State Fire Commissioner 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 ...

. He resigned as Pennsylvania Fire Commissioner in late December 2017. Bruce Trego has been appointed as acting commissioner by Gov. Tom Wolf.

References

External links

Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solobay, Tim 1956 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania California Coast University alumni