P. Michael Sturla (born February 18, 1956) is an American politician serving as a Democratic 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 ...

. He has represented the 96th District in Lancaster County, including the city of Lancaster, Manheim Township and East Petersburg since 1991. Sturla served as House Democratic Policy Committee Chair until 2020. He currently serves as the Democratic minority chair of the House Urban Affairs Committee. For most of his tenure in the legislature, he has been the only Democrat representing a significant portion of Lancaster County at the state or federal level.

Biography

Sturla graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1979 with a degree in environmental design. After college, he founded a painting and construction firm with his brother and later founded Aarchitrave, an architecture firm. He was elected to the Lancaster City Council in 1987 and served on the Council until his election to the House. In August 2011, Sturla stirred controversy with written remarks he made about proposed drilling in the

Marcellus Shale Marcellus may refer to: * Marcellus (name) * Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Roman commander Places * Marcellus, Lot-et-Garonne, France * Marcellus Township, Michigan ** Marcellus, Michigan, a village in Marcellus Township ** Marcellus Community Sch ...

regions of Pennsylvania. He wrote that increased drilling would lead to the "spread of sexually transmitted disease amongst the womenfolk." Sturla apologized for his "insensitive" remarks, but defended himself by saying that his comments were based on a report to the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. Mike Sturla endorsed

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 ...

in the 2014 Democratic Primary for Governor. Sturla currently sits on the Urban Affairs committee.

References

External links

*Campaign Website: https://www.votesturla.net/
Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Mike Sturla
Official PA House website
Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus - Rep. Mike Sturla
Official Party website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturla, P. Michael 1956 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania University of Kansas alumni Pennsylvania city council members 21st-century American politicians