Joseph E. "Joe" Sinnott is the incumbent mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

. A Democrat

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...

, he has served as mayor since January 2006.

A lifelong resident of Erie, Sinnott graduated from Academy High School in 1984, and Gannon University

Gannon University

Gannon University is a private, co-educational Catholic university offering associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees, certificates and doctoral degrees and is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has an alumni base numbering around 31,500. Current enrollment is 4,238.Gannon's...

 in 1988 with a B.S.

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 in chemistry. He worked as a chemist at the Erie Waste Water Treatment Plant for eight years. He was accepted to Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Case Western Reserve University Franklin Thomas Backus School of Law is the law school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. It opened in 1892, making it one of the oldest law schools in the country. It was one of the first schools accredited by the American Bar Association and was...

 in 1996 and graduated in 1999. He joined the firm of Quinn, Buseck, Leemhuis, Toohey & Kroto in Erie, concentrating in the areas of environmental

Environmental law

Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...

 and commercial

Commercial law

Commercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions...

 litigation, and later practiced domestic

Municipal law

Municipal law is the national, domestic, or internal law of a sovereign state defined in opposition to international law. Municipal law includes not only law at the national level, but law at the state, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels...

 and family law

Family law

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...

with the Erie firm of Carney & Good for several years. He also worked at Resource Settlement for a few years up until being elected to city council.

In 2003, Sinnott was elected to the city council for a four year term. In 2005, he successfully ran for mayor of Erie, taking office on January 2, 2006. Sinnott was reelected in 2009.

His parents, Edward and Gloria Sinnott, were both public school teachers.

External links

• Mayor's Biography www.erie.pa.us