Terry E. Van Horn is a former Democratic

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...

 member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

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....

, where he represented the 54th legislative district

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 54

The 54th Pennsylvania House of Representatives District made up of parts of Armstrong County and Westmoreland County. The district includes the following areas:* Armstrong County** Bethel Township** Cadogan Township** Gilpin Township** Parks Township...

.

He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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...

 and graduated from Arnold High School in 1963. He earned a degree from Duquesne University

Duquesne University

Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...

 in 1968 and a law degree from Widener University School of Law

Widener University School of Law

Widener University School of Law is the ABA accredited law school of Widener University. The school, founded in 1971 as the Delaware Law School, operates on two of Widener's campuses, one in Wilmington, Delaware, and the other in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania....

 in 1993. He was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

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....

 in 1980, a position he held until 2000.

In 2000, Democratic 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...

 vacated Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district

Pennsylvania's fourth district is located in western Pennsylvania and includes suburbs of Pittsburgh as well as Beaver County, Lawrence County, and Mercer County....

 to challenge 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...

 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...

. Van Horne won an 8-way primary election to win the Democratic nominee to succeed Klink. He defeated the state and national party's preferred candidate, Matthew Mangino, the Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

Lawrence County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 91,108. The county was added to the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2003. The county seat is New Castle....

 district attorney. Van Horne lost the election to then-Pennsylvania Senator Melissa Hart.

In July 2007, Van Horne was hired as the municipal manager

City manager

A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...

 for Penn Hills Township, Pennsylvania. He was fired by the Penn Hills municipal council in February 2009 and said that he was distracted by his duties as solicitor for East Deer Township, Pennsylvania

East Deer Township, Pennsylvania

East Deer Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,500 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 11.83%, is water.-Demographics:As of the census of...

 and that he had failed to move into the municipality within the required time period.

External links

• Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Terry E. Van Horne (Democrat) official PA House profile (archived)