Stephen McCarter (born February 16, 1947) is a retired American educator and politician. He was 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 ...

, representing the 154th legislative district from

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

until 2020. The district was located in Montgomery and

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. Since ...

counties, including

Cheltenham Township Cheltenham Township is a home rule township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cheltenham's population density ranges from over 10,000 per square mile (25,900 per square kilometer) in rowhouses and high-rise apartments along Chel ...

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 ...

, Springfield Township, and part of Philadelphia's 35th Ward.

Background

Prior to his election as a state representative, McCarter was a high school social studies teacher for 35 years in Abington and Lower Merion. He holds a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in education from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

and a Masters of Science degree in education from the

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

. He also worked as an adjunct professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a captain in the

US Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 202 ...

. McCarter has served as the Chairman of the Cheltenham School District Local Tax Study Commission, and he was also a member of the Cheltenham Development Corporation, Cheltenham Historical Commission, and a board member and mideastern region president for the

Pennsylvania State Education Association The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) represents more than 187,000 teachers, educational support professionals, counselors, curriculum specialists, librarians, health care workers, school nurses, school dental hygienists, school nurs ...

. McCarter and his wife Deborah currently reside in Glenside. They have lived in Cheltenham Township for 25 years, including nearby

Elkins Park Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from Cente ...

and Jenkintown.

State Representative

Following an announcement by incumbent State Representative Lawrence Curry that he would not be seeking re-election in

, McCarter announced his candidacy for the 154th District's house seat. He ran unopposed in the primary election and went on to defeat Republican Mark Sirinides with 72.62 percent of the vote. McCarter won every precinct in the legislative district. McCarter serves on the Aging & Older Adult Services, Children & Youth, Environmental Resources & Energy, and Policy committees. As a state representative, McCarter has called for increased state funding for infrastructure and education, and supported an extraction tax on natural gas drillers. Following the Supreme Court's

decision Decision may refer to: Law and politics *Judgment (law), as the outcome of a legal case *Landmark decision, the outcome of a case that sets a legal precedent * ''Per curiam'' decision, by a court with multiple judges Books * ''Decision'' (novel ...

on the

Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...

, McCarter announced that he and State Representative

Brian Sims Brian Kendall Sims (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician, activist and attorney. A Democrat, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 182nd district from 2013 until 2022. Sims is also a lawyer and advoca ...

would introduce a bill to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

in Pennsylvania. In December 2019, McCarter announced that he will not seek re-election in 2020.

References

External links

House Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarter, Steve Living people People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Temple University alumni University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania 1947 births 21st-century American politicians