Thomas H. Killion (born 1957) is an American politician. 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 ...

, he was 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 ...

for the 9th Senatorial District from 2016 until 2020. He previously 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 168th district from 2003 to 2016.

Early life and education

Killion was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

and graduated from

Cardinal O'Hara High School Cardinal O'Hara High School is a coeducational Catholic high school of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school is named after John Francis O'Hara who was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 to 1960. It is located in Spring ...

in 1975. He received a B.S. in criminal justice from the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

in 1979.

Political career

Early career

Killion served as a fraud investigator with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and later founded his own pension advisory firm, InR Advisors. In 1990, he became the campaign chairman for Rep.

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 ...

and worked in that capacity through 2003. He was elected as a member of Delaware County Council in 1991 and served from 1992 to 2000 including as Chairman.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Killion was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 168th district in 2003. He defeated William Thomas in a special election to succeed former Pennsylvania House Speaker Rep. Matt Ryan, who died of leukemia earlier that year. He was re-elected to six consecutive terms until his resignation on May 10, 2016. Killion announced plans to run for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

on December 4, 2009. He ended his campaign for that position on January 8, 2010, and announced plans to once again run for the State House in 2010.

Pennsylvania State Senate

He was elected to the

for the 9th Senatorial District in a special election on April 26, 2016 to replace

Dominic Pileggi Dominic F. Pileggi (born December 15, 1957) is an American politician and judge from Pennsylvania who served as Republican mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2002 and as a member of the Pennsylvania 9th Senatorial district from 2002 unt ...

and was sworn into office on May 11, 2016. Killion has served on multiple boards including for the Children and Adult Disability and Educational Services (CADES),

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

, VisitPhilly, the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, Southeastern PA Chamber of Commerce and the Southeastern PA Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Killion was defeated in his bid for re-election in 2020 by Democrat John I. Kane.

Personal life

Killion lives in

Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Middletown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,807 at the 2010 census. The Pennsylvania State University has an undergraduate satellite campus called Penn State Brandywine located in the ...

with his wife and daughters. He is a member of the St. Thomas the Apostle Church in

Chester Heights, Pennsylvania Chester Heights is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,531 at the 2010 census. Most of the borough lies south of U.S. 1, about a mile southwest of Wawa. History The history of Chester Heights predate ...

References

External links

Senator Tom Killion official PA Senate website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Killion, Tom 1957 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Pennsylvania State University alumni People from Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania