Thaddeus Kirkland (born January 12, 1955) is an American politician who is the Mayor of

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

since 2016. 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 ...

, he served as a member of the 159th district from 1993 to 2016.

Early life and education

Born in Chester, Kirkland graduated from Chester High School in 1973 and

Cheyney University Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a mem ...

in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and

Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary Palmer Theological Seminary is a Baptist seminary in St. Davids. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It was founded in 1925 as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Its parent institution is Eastern University. History The ...

. Kirkland is a graduate of the

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

Leadership Academy and is a member of

Wine Psi Phi Wine Psi Phi is an African American fraternity. It was founded in 1959 under the name HUMS at Howard University and had the motto of We Initiate New Experiences In 1962 the name was changed to W.I.N.E. Psi Phi. It arose out of the social activism ...

and

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

fraternities. Kirkland was a community service coordinator at Crozer Chester Medical Center, where he directed outreach and educational programs for teenagers.

Political career

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

In 1993, Kirkland was elected as a Democratic member to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 159th district. He was reelected 10 times, serving 11 consecutive 2-year terms. Kirkland served as the Democratic Chairman of the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee and as a member of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. In 2002, he was named to the

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the we ...

list of Best Dressed Legislators. He was not a candidate for reelection in 2016 and was succeeded by his nephew,

Brian Joseph Kirkland Brian Joseph Kirkland (born January 22, 1981) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 159th district from 2017 to 2022. Early life and education Kirkland graduated from C ...

Chester-Upland School District controversies

In June 2011, Kirkland announced that if $20 million worth of cuts were not restored to the

Chester Upland School District The Chester Upland School District (CUSD) is a midsized, urban public school district serving the City of Chester, the Borough of Upland and Chester Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The Chester-Upland School District administrative of ...

, he planned to file a federal lawsuit against Pennsylvania to close the three public high schools in Chester. However, the school board did not support Kirkland's plan, calling a press conference where they stated that they were "fully capable of speaking for" themselves and "totally disagree" with what Kirkland wanted to do. In August 2017, Kirkland welcomed the opening of the Chester Charter School for the Arts, a $25 million public, non-profit charter school on an 11-acre campus on Highland Avenue with kindergarten through 11th grade classes with a focus on music, dance, theater and visual arts.

Mayor of Chester

In the 2015 Democratic mayoral primary, Kirkland defeated incumbent Mayor

John Linder John Elmer Linder (born September 9, 1942) is an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2011. His district was numbered the from 1993 to 1997, the from 1997 to 2003, and the from 2003 u ...

1,818 to 721 and then former mayor, Republican

Wendell Butler Jr. Wendell Butler Jr. (born 1943/1944) is a former American politician who served as a Republican mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania, from 2002 to 2012. Biography Butler was born and raised in Chester, where he lived in a federal housing project and a ...

in the election. Just before taking office on January 4, 2016, he promised to reduce violence in the city by improving the schools and police force and using body cameras. Kirkland decided to stay on as the representative of Chester, as well as serving as mayor. He is the first representative who has resigned and then rescinded his resignation. The House Democratic spokesman stated that because of this action he will not be taking a mayoral salary until he departs from the House, and instead will take his legislative pay and continue to count toward his pension credits.

Personal life

Kirkland is the pastor of the Community Baptist Church in Chester, Pennsylvania and Vice President of the West End Ministerial Fellowship of Chester and Vicinity. He is a former Board of Trustee member of Lincoln University. Kirkland is married to Susie and together they have five daughters. Kirkland is the younger brother of former professional basketball player

Wilbur Kirkland Wilbur Kirkland also known as Willie Kirkland, (born 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. After a college career at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Kirkland played in two games for the Pittsburgh Pipers in the American B ...

References

External links

Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Thaddeus Kirkland (Democrat)
official PA House website
Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus - Thaddeus Kirkland
official Party website , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkland, Thaddeus 1955 births Living people 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American mayors in Pennsylvania African-American people in Pennsylvania politics Chester High School alumni Cheyney University of Pennsylvania alumni Mayors of Chester, Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians