Joanna E. McClinton
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Joanna E. McClinton (born August 19, 1982) is an American politician from the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
of
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, ...
. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, she serves in 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 ...
, representing the 191st House district in Delaware County and
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 ...
since 2015. In November 2020, she was elected to serve as the House Democratic Leader and became Majority Leader in 2022.


Education and early career

McClinton received her Bachelor's of Arts in Political Science from
La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...
. She earned her J.D. from
Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...
. During her enrollment at Villanova School of Law, McClinton interned at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office as well as the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Upon graduation, McClinton went on to work for seven years as an assistant public defender. She was eventually named assistant chief of the East Zone. In 2013, McClinton was named Chief Counsel to State Senator
Anthony Hardy Williams Anthony Hardy Williams (born February 28, 1957) is an American politician, former businessman, and Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 8th District since 1998. Prior to entering public service, he worked at ...
of the 8th district. McClinton's volunteer work includes acting as a board member of La Salle University's Alumni Association board of directors and president of La Salle University's African American Alumni Association, acting as a youth minister for ten years, volunteering at the Outreach to Youth and Hand of Compassion American Sign Language Ministry, and serving as secretary to Philadelphia Barrister's Association.


Political career

McClinton started her first term in the state legislature after she won a special election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2015, winning 70% of the vote and beating Republican Charles Wilkins. The special election was held following Ronald Waters' resignation on June 1, 2015 after he pled guilty to cash payments from lobbyists and sentenced to 23 months probation. She then went on to win reelection in 2016, and was named secretary/treasurer of the Philadelphia County Delegation alongside Maria Donatucci and
Jason Dawkins Jason Dawkins is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 179th House district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dawkins is a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus The Pennsylvania Legislativ ...
. McClinton's policy proposals center around education reform, job creation, creating a state-funded indigent defense system, and reforming the criminal justice system. She proposed legislation to establish universal pre-K and reform the Pennsylvania's expungement system. As a public defender, much of McClinton's focus has been on reforming Pennsylvania's criminal justice system. She has proposed changing the indigent defense system from being funded by the city to being funded by the state, and connecting constituents with career placement resources. During the 2017–2018 legislative session McClinton will propose legislation that she co-sponsored to create a school-based drug substance abuse intervention program in Pennsylvania schools. This proposed legislation would require the Board of Education to work alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Program to develop the appropriate curriculum guidelines and would require schools to implement the program into their health classes. In 2018, she was elected to serve as Democratic Caucus Chair by members of the House Democratic Caucus. In November 2020, she was elected to serve as the House Democratic Leader.


References


External links


PA House profileOfficial Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClinton, Joanna 1982 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania African-American women in politics La Salle University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Villanova University School of Law alumni Women in Pennsylvania politics Women state legislators in Pennsylvania 20th-century African-American women Public defenders