Allyson Schwartz
Encyclopedia
Allyson Young Schwartz is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party
. The district includes parts of Montgomery County
and Northeast Philadelphia
. She is also National Chair for Recruitment and Candidate Services for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
.
, New York
, to Everett and Renee (née Perl) Young. Her mother left Vienna
in 1938 after Germany
annexed Austria
and came to the United States
, where she settled at a Jewish foster home
in Philadelphia. Her father was a dentist
in Flushing, Queens
, and a veteran of the Korean War
. She has a brother, Neal, and two sisters, Nancy and Dale.
Schwartz graduated from the Calhoun School
, on the Upper West Side
of New York City
, in 1966 and then enrolled at Simmons College
in Boston
, Massachusetts
. She earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Sociology from Simmons in 1970, as well as a Master of Social Work
degree from Bryn Mawr College
in 1972. She worked as assistant director of the Philadelphia Health Services Department from 1972 to 1975, and executive director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, a Planned Parenthood
clinic in Philadelphia, from 1975 to 1988. In 1988, she was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services.
. In what was considered an extremely bitter campaign, Schwartz was able to unseat incumbent Republican Joe Rocks
. Perhaps the most notable example of the tenor the campaign took on was the assertion from the Schwartz campaign that Rocks had an alcohol problem and engaged in promiscuous behavior. The comments had apparently been prepared as a joke by a staffer, released accidentally, and Schwartz apologized, but the campaign became increasingly acrimonious from that point forward.
Schwartz was re-elected in 1994, 1998, and 2002
. The district was extended into Montgomery County in the legislative reapportionment of 1991 and Schwartz moved in early 2004 to Jenkintown
in Montgomery County, where she still lives. In 2000
, she ran in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate
seat of freshman Republican Rick Santorum
. She finished second behind Pittsburgh
-area Congressman Ron Klink
but won Montgomery County and Philadelphia with impressive numbers.
In a 2002 PoliticsPA
feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, she was named the "Best Dressed," to which she responded "I appreciate the honor...it must be the scarves."
and the chair of the New Democrat Coalition Taskforce on Health. In this position, she has actively pushed for the greater use of interoperable and secure electronic prescribing
systems throughout the country in an attempt to decrease medical errors as well as costs and liability to providers, health systems and patients.
Schwartz is the first Democratic member of the House of Representatives to call for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign following his photo scandal.
Prior to 2011 she was also a member of the Ways and Means Committee
.
decided not to run for a fourth term, opting instead to make a Senate run against Republican Arlen Specter
. Schwartz had originally planned to run for Auditor General, but changed her plans after Hoeffel's announcement. She narrowly defeated former Philadelphia deputy mayor and National Constitution Center
director Joe Torsella in the primary. While most former state legislators raise comparatively more money through PACs
than individual donations, she raised $4,597,032 from individual donations and comparatively little ($558,376) in PAC donations.
In the general election, Schwartz faced Melissa Brown, Hoeffel's Republican challenger in 2002. Schwartz won handily, taking 56 percent of the vote. The 13th had long been reckoned as a classic moderate Northeastern Republican district, but had become increasingly Democratic in recent years. A Republican presidential candidate hasn't carried it since 1988, and it has been in Democratic hands for all but four years since 1993.
, who is most famous for his appearance on the television show The Apprentice 2
.
.
, Pennsylvania
. They have two adult sons, Daniel and Jordan.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. The district includes parts of Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
and Northeast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...
. She is also National Chair for Recruitment and Candidate Services for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...
.
Early life, education and career
Schwartz was born in QueensQueens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to Everett and Renee (née Perl) Young. Her mother left Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1938 after Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
annexed Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where she settled at a Jewish foster home
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
in Philadelphia. Her father was a dentist
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
in Flushing, Queens
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
, and a veteran of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. She has a brother, Neal, and two sisters, Nancy and Dale.
Schwartz graduated from the Calhoun School
Calhoun school
The Calhoun School is an independent, coeducational college preparatory school located in New York City's Upper West Side. Classes are offered for preschool through 12th grade...
, on the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, in 1966 and then enrolled at Simmons College
Simmons College (Massachusetts)
Simmons College, established in 1899, is a private women's undergraduate college and private co-educational graduate school in Boston, Massachusetts.-History:Simmons was founded in 1899 with a bequest by John Simmons a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Boston...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. She earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Sociology from Simmons in 1970, as well as a Master of Social Work
Master of Social Work
The Master of Social Work is a master's degree in social workand especiality of sociology.- United States :In the United States, MSW degrees must be received from a graduate school that has been approved by the Council on Social Work Education...
degree from Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
in 1972. She worked as assistant director of the Philadelphia Health Services Department from 1972 to 1975, and executive director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, a Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
clinic in Philadelphia, from 1975 to 1988. In 1988, she was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services.
Pennsylvania Senate
In 1990, Schwartz was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing a district in Northwest and Northeast PhiladelphiaNortheast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...
. In what was considered an extremely bitter campaign, Schwartz was able to unseat incumbent Republican Joe Rocks
Joe Rocks
Joseph M. Rocks is a former Pennsylvania State Senator and Pennsylvania State Representative. He was a Philadelphia mayoral candidate and currently works in the mental health profession...
. Perhaps the most notable example of the tenor the campaign took on was the assertion from the Schwartz campaign that Rocks had an alcohol problem and engaged in promiscuous behavior. The comments had apparently been prepared as a joke by a staffer, released accidentally, and Schwartz apologized, but the campaign became increasingly acrimonious from that point forward.
Schwartz was re-elected in 1994, 1998, and 2002
Pennsylvania Senate elections, 2002
Elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 5, 2002, with even-numbered districts being contested. State Senators are elected for four-year terms, with half of the Senate seats up for a vote every two years. The term of office for those elected in 2002 ran from January 3, 2003...
. The district was extended into Montgomery County in the legislative reapportionment of 1991 and Schwartz moved in early 2004 to Jenkintown
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of downtown Philadelphia. "Jenkintown" is also used to describe a number of neighborhoods surrounding the borough, which also are known by names such as Rydal, Jenkintown Manor and Noble...
in Montgomery County, where she still lives. In 2000
United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2000
The 2000 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rick Santorum won re-election to a second term.-Campaign:...
, she ran in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
seat of freshman Republican Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...
. She finished second behind Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
-area Congressman Ron Klink
Ron Klink
Ronald "Ron" Klink is a Democratic politician and former United States Representative from Pennsylvania.Klink was born in Canton, Ohio, and graduated from Meyersdale High School in Pennsylvania in 1969. Klink originally worked behind the scenes at WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania...
but won Montgomery County and Philadelphia with impressive numbers.
In a 2002 PoliticsPA
PoliticsPA
- Content :The website focuses on news aggregation, linking to major political news making headlines across the state. The editors write occasional features, like the weekly "Up & Down" scorecard and one-off lists like "Harrisburg's Smartest Staffer" and "Best Dressed Lobbyist" lists...
feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, she was named the "Best Dressed," to which she responded "I appreciate the honor...it must be the scarves."
U.S. House of Representatives
Schwartz is a member of the New Democrat CoalitionNew Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a Congressional Member Organization within the United States Congress made up of Democrats who support an agenda that the organization describes as moderate and pro-growth. A July 2009 Press release described the organization as "the largest moderate coalition in the U.S...
and the chair of the New Democrat Coalition Taskforce on Health. In this position, she has actively pushed for the greater use of interoperable and secure electronic prescribing
Electronic prescribing
Electronic prescribing or e-prescribing is the ability to send error-free, accurate, and understandable prescriptions electronically from the healthcare provider to the pharmacy. E-prescribing is meant to reduce the risks associated with traditional prescription script writing. It is also one of...
systems throughout the country in an attempt to decrease medical errors as well as costs and liability to providers, health systems and patients.
Schwartz is the first Democratic member of the House of Representatives to call for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign following his photo scandal.
Committee assignments
- Committee on the BudgetUnited States House Committee on the BudgetThe U.S. House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress...
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
Prior to 2011 she was also a member of the Ways and Means Committee
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...
.
2004
In 2003, Pennsylvania 13th District Congressman Joe HoeffelJoe Hoeffel
Joseph Merrill "Joe" Hoeffel III is an American politician. A Democrat, he is currently a member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, having previously served from 1992 to 1998....
decided not to run for a fourth term, opting instead to make a Senate run against Republican Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
. Schwartz had originally planned to run for Auditor General, but changed her plans after Hoeffel's announcement. She narrowly defeated former Philadelphia deputy mayor and National Constitution Center
National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center is an organization that seeks to expand awareness and understanding of the United States Constitution and operates a museum to advance those purposes....
director Joe Torsella in the primary. While most former state legislators raise comparatively more money through PACs
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
than individual donations, she raised $4,597,032 from individual donations and comparatively little ($558,376) in PAC donations.
In the general election, Schwartz faced Melissa Brown, Hoeffel's Republican challenger in 2002. Schwartz won handily, taking 56 percent of the vote. The 13th had long been reckoned as a classic moderate Northeastern Republican district, but had become increasingly Democratic in recent years. A Republican presidential candidate hasn't carried it since 1988, and it has been in Democratic hands for all but four years since 1993.
2006
In 2006, Schwartz retained the seat by defeating opponent Raj BhaktaRaj Bhakta
Raj Peter Bhakta is an entrepreneur and American public figure. Bhakta was a contestant on the second season of the reality show The Apprentice...
, who is most famous for his appearance on the television show The Apprentice 2
The Apprentice (US Season 2)
The Apprentice 2 is the second season of The Apprentice, which began on September 9, 2004 on NBC. It featured 18 candidates, whereas the first season only featured 16.Three new twists were introduced to The Apprentice this season...
.
2008
Schwartz won against Republican nominee Marina Kats.2010
Schwartz won against Republican nominee Dee AdcockDee Adcock
Carson Dee Adcock was the 2010 Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district. He lost to Democrat Allyson Schwartz....
.
Personal life
Schwartz is married to Dr. David Schwartz, a cardiologist, and they live in JenkintownJenkintown, Pennsylvania
Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of downtown Philadelphia. "Jenkintown" is also used to describe a number of neighborhoods surrounding the borough, which also are known by names such as Rydal, Jenkintown Manor and Noble...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. They have two adult sons, Daniel and Jordan.
External links
- Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz official U.S. House site
- Allyson Schwartz for Congress official campaign site