Madeleine Dean Cunnane (born June 6, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district Pennsylvania's fourth congressional district, effective January 3, 2019, encompasses the majority of Montgomery County and a small sliver of Berks County in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the Pennsylvania district ...

. The district includes almost all of Montgomery County, a suburban county north of

Philadelphia 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 ...

. Before being elected to Congress, Dean was a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

, representing the 153rd district 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 ...

Early life and education

The youngest of seven children, Madeleine Dean was born to Bob and Mary Dean in

Glenside, Pennsylvania Glenside is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Cheltenham Township and Abington Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders Northwest Philadelphia. The population was 7,737 at the 2020 census on a land area of ...

. She graduated from

Abington Senior High School Abington Senior High School is a three-year co-educational high school in Abington, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was a two-year high school known as Abington South Campus from September 1964 until June 1983. In September 1983, Abingt ...

. She graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

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 ...

, and earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

at the

Widener University Delaware Law School Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Univ ...

. She also studied politics and public service at the

Fels Institute of Government The Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania is a graduate school of public policy and public management. Founded in 1937 by Samuel Simeon Fels of the Fels Naptha Soap Company, the Fel Institute prepares its students for pub ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Career

After law school, Dean returned to the Philadelphia area and practiced law with the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers, going on to serve as executive director. She then opened a small, three-woman law practice in Glenside, and served as

in-house counsel A corporate lawyer or corporate counsel is a type of lawyer who specializes in corporate law. Corporate lawyers working inside and for corporations are called in-house counsel. Roles and responsibilities The role of a corporate lawyer is to ...

for her husband's growing bicycle business. While raising three young sons, Dean turned to teaching. She served 10 years as an assistant professor of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

at her alma mater, La Salle University, in Philadelphia, where she taught writing and ethics.

Early political career

Dean got her start in politics soon after graduating from high school, when she was elected to an Abington Township committee seat. She volunteered on her first campaign, for

Joe Hoeffel Joseph Merrill Hoeffel III ( ; born September 3, 1950) is an American author and politician. A Democrat, Hoeffel was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, representing Pennsylvania's 13th congressional distri ...

's reelection to the state legislature, in the same district seat she later held. On that campaign she met her future husband,

Patrick Cunnane Patrick "PJ" Cunnane (born June 26, 1958) is a bicycle business executive from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cunnane was the CEO of Advanced Sports International which owned 5 bicycle brands under the name Advanced Sports International formerly Adva ...

, then a 19-year-old elected committee-person.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Having worked and volunteered in politics for decades, and her children grown, Dean was asked to become a public servant herself, serving as Abington Township commissioner, and ran for state representative in 2012. In the State House, she prioritized social issues such as addiction, equal rights, access to healthcare, ethics, criminal justice reform, and gun violence. After the

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

, Dean and Dan Frankel co-founded the gun violence prevention caucus, PA SAFE Caucus. The caucus is a self-described coalition of legislators and advocates dedicated to curbing the sale of illegal guns. In 2015, Dean was appointed to the Governor's Commission for Women, a commission designed to advise the governor on policies and legislation that promote equality issues ranging from sexual assault to business initiatives. In 2017, she was elected chair of the Southeast Delegation of the Pennsylvania House Democrats, composed of 22 House Democrats representing nine counties. She served on several committees, including Appropriations, Judiciary, Policy, Urban Affairs, State Government, and Finance, of which she was vice-chair. Dean stated in 2014: "We know that the number one issue with voters is education and how we fund our public schools". Regarding the Pennsylvania education budget for 2013, the then-state Representative said: "How we educate our kids tells us how our economy will be." In that same instance, she highlighted the issue of public school funding.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In February 2018, after a significant change in

Pennsylvania's congressional districts After the 2000 census, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was divided into 19 congressional districts, decreasing from 21 due to reapportionment. After the 2010 census, the number of districts decreased again to 18. In the 2022 midterms, per th ...

mandated by the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...

, Dean announced she would end her campaign for lieutenant governor and instead run for Congress in the 4th district. The district had previously been the 13th, represented by two-term fellow Democrat

Brendan Boyle Brendan Francis Boyle (born February 6, 1977) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing a district in the Philadelphia area since 2015. He represented the 13th district ...

. But the 13th's share of Philadelphia, including Boyle’s home, was drawn into the 2nd district, and Boyle opted to run for reelection there. On May 15, Dean defeated two challengers, Shira Goodman and former Congressman

, in the Democratic primary. In the general election she defeated Republican Dan David with 63.45% of the vote to his 36.55%. She was one of four Democratic women elected to Congress from Pennsylvania in 2018. The others were

Mary Gay Scanlon Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Chrissy Houlahan Christina Marie "Chrissy" Houlahan ( ; née Jampoler; born June 5, 1967) is an American politician, engineer, and former United States Air Force officer. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the U.S. representative from . The district inclu ...

and

Susan Wild Susan Wild (née Ellis; born June 7, 1957) is an American attorney and politician from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A Democrat, she is a member of the United States House of Representatives from . The district is in the heart of the Lehigh ...

. The state's delegation had previously been all male.

2020

Dean ran for reelection and defeated the Republican nominee, military veteran and political commentator Kathy Barnette, with 59.5% of the vote to Barnette's 40.5%.

Tenure

On January 12, 2021, Dean was named a manager for the

second impeachment of Donald Trump Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first imp ...

Committee assignments

Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees t ...

** Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion ** Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy *

Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary may mean: * United States House Committee on the Judiciary * United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standi ...

** Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law **

Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security The Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance is a subcommittee within the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, House Judiciary Committee. It was previously known as the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Secur ...

Caucus memberships

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...

Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues is a bipartisan membership organization within the House of Representatives committed to advancing women's interests in Congress. It was founded by fifteen Congresswomen on April 19, 1977, and was origin ...

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...

Electoral history

Other political campaigns

Lieutenant governor

In November 2017, Dean announced her candidacy for

lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

, facing, among others, incumbent

Mike Stack Michael Joseph Stack III (born June 5, 1963) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 33rd lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the P ...

in the Democratic primary. She dropped out to run for Congress.

Personal life

Dean lives in Abington Township (with a

Jenkintown Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Center City Philadelphia. History The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler. Jenkintown is located just ...

address), with her husband, Patrick "P.J." Cunnane. Cunnane is an entrepreneur in the bicycle industry and managed

Advanced Sports International Advanced Sports International (ASI) is an American bicycle company whose flagship brand is Fuji Bikes. It also owns smaller brands including triathlon-focused Kestrel USA, component maker Oval Concepts, Breezer bikes, Tuesday Cycles and BMX maker ...

. They have three grown sons and three grandchildren. Her son, Pat, was senior writer and deputy director of messaging in the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

References

External links

Congresswoman Madeleine Dean
official U.S. House website
Madeleine Dean for Congress

Madeleine Dean (D)
state legislature profile * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Madeleine 1959 births 21st-century American politicians Female members of the United States House of Representatives La Salle University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Widener University alumni Women state legislators in Pennsylvania 21st-century American women politicians House managers for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump