Jordan A. Harris is an American politician currently serving as the Majority Chair of the Appropriations Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 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 ...

, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 186th legislative district, comprising parts of South and West

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. He was first elected in 2012. Harris is a member of the Knight Foundation's Philadelphia Community Advisory Committee.

Early life and education

Harris attended John Bartram Motivation High School in Philadelphia. Harris holds a bachelor's degree in governmental and political affairs from

Millersville University Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher E ...

and a master's degree in education from

Cabrini College Cabrini University is a private Roman Catholic university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, and was named after the first American naturalized citizen saint, Mother ...

. He is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at

Neumann University Neumann University is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Aston, Pennsylvania. It is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. History The roots of Neumann University began in 1855 when Bishop (later Saint) John ...

. Harris is a former teacher in the Philadelphia Public Schools. He has served in city government, rising to the position of director of the Philadelphia Youth Commission.

Political career

Since his election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2012, Harris has advocated for criminal justice reform, supporting clean slate bills to allow people convicted of felonies to, after a certain amount of time, have their conviction removed from their record. Harris worked on this legislation since he was sworn into office, and 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 gu ...

signed the Clean Slate Act in June 2018. As of June 2022, over 40 million Pennsylvanians have had their record sealed as a result of the law. Harris was selected by the

Pennsylvania Democratic Party The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street. Governor Tom Wo ...

as one of 20 delegates to the

United States Electoral College The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia a ...

for Joe Biden and his running mate,

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

, in the 2020 United States presidential election. Harris previously served as the Chair of the Pennsylvania House Legislative Black Caucus and served as the Democratic Whip in the 2021-2022 legislative session. In May 2023, Harris, along with fellow Philadelphia-area Representative Jared Solomon, established the legislative Black-Jewish Caucus.

Committee assignments, 2023–2024

* Appropriations (Majority Chair) * Rules

References

External links

Biography at pahouse.com
1984 births 2020 United States presidential electors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American legislators African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania Cabrini University alumni Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Living people Millersville University of Pennsylvania alumni Neumann University alumni Politicians from Philadelphia Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania 21st-century Pennsylvania politicians {{Pennsylvania-PARepresentative-stub