Frank Dermody
Encyclopedia
Frank Dermody is a 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....

, representing the 33rd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 33
The 33rd Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Allegheny County and includes the following areas:* Brackenridge* Cheswick* East Deer Township* Fawn Township* Frazer Township* Harmar Township* Harrison Township* Indiana Township...

 since 1991. His district is located in northeastern Allegheny County
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

, including Brackenridge
Brackenridge, Pennsylvania
Brackenridge is a borough in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, along the Allegheny River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area.The town is named for Henry Marie Brackenridge. The borough once had glass factories...

, Cheswick
Cheswick, Pennsylvania
Cheswick is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,746 at the 2010 census.-History:Cheswick, named for a town in England, is a small town of about . The history of the lands of Cheswick seems to have belonged to the Keen family at least in part, for Archie...

, East Deer, Fawn
Fawn Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Fawn Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,376 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all of it land.-Streams:...

, Frazer, Harmar, Harrison
Harrison Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Harrison Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,461 at the 2010 census. Pennsylvania Route 28 passes through Harrison Township connecting Kittanning to the northeast and Pittsburgh to the southwest. Allegheny Technologies has extensive steel...

, Indiana, Oakmont
Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Oakmont is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a Pittsburgh suburb and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 6,303 at the 2010 census....

, part of Plum
Plum, Pennsylvania
Plum is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 27,126 at the 2010 census.Plum is often referred to as "Plum Boro" or more correctly "Plum Borough" by locals to distinguish it from its previous status as a township...

, Springdale, Tarentum
Tarentum, Pennsylvania
Tarentum is a borough in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is northeast of Downtown Pittsburgh, along the Allegheny River. Tarentum was an industrial center where plate glass and bottles were manufactured; bricks, lumber, steel and iron novelties, steel billets and sheets,...

, and West Deer.

Dermody has served as House Minority Leader
Minority leader
In U.S. politics, the minority leader is the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body. Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat, with their counterpart being of the opposite party. The position...

 since January 4, 2011. He was elected Democratic floor leader on November 17, 2010, after incumbent Todd Eachus was defeated in his bid for re-election.

Background

One of five children, Dermody was born in Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...

, 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...

, and raised in nearby Clarks Summit
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
Clarks Summit is a borough in Lackawanna County northwest of Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,116 at the 2010 census. It is also the northern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, I-476.-History:...

. His father, a demolition expert who worked in the coal mines, died when Frank was 7. To support the family, his mother worked various jobs, including with Capitol Records, the Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...

, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Barry Schoch Presently, PennDOT supports over of state roads and highways, about 25,000...

.

After graduating from Abington Heights High School
Abington Heights School District
The Abington Heights School District covers the Boroughs of Clarks Green and Clarks Summit and Waverly Township, Glenburn Township, Newton Township, North Abington Township, Ransom Township and South Abington Township in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The district operates four elementary...

, he received a scholarship to play football at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in 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...

. He 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 history from Columbia in 1973. For the next five years, he worked in sales for two different companies in New York while saving money for law school. He received his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the flagship campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The law school is one of two law schools operated by the Indiana University system, the other being the Indiana University McKinney School of Law...

 in 1982.

Dermody then returned to Pennsylvania, working as an assistant public defender
Public defender
The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...

 in Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

. He served as assistant district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

 in Allegheny County
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

 for five years, prosecuting rape, murder, and child abuse cases. During his tenure in the district attorney's office, he was appointed by Governor Bob Casey
Robert P. Casey
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...

 in 1989 to fill an unexpired term as district justice for Oakmont
Oakmont, Pennsylvania
Oakmont is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a Pittsburgh suburb and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 6,303 at the 2010 census....

 and Verona
Verona, Pennsylvania
Verona is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is northeast of downtown Pittsburgh, along the left bank of the Allegheny River. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,474.-Industry:...

, which he did for seven months.

Dermody also worked as a legal advisor to Allegheny County's district justices, an instructor at the Community College of Allegheny County
Community College of Allegheny County
Community College of Allegheny County, or CCAC as it is officially abbreviated, is a community college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With four campuses and six centers, the college offers associate's degrees, certificate and diploma programs....

, and a faculty member of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

State Representative

In 1990, Dermody ran for 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 the 33rd Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 33
The 33rd Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Allegheny County and includes the following areas:* Brackenridge* Cheswick* East Deer Township* Fawn Township* Frazer Township* Harmar Township* Harrison Township* Indiana Township...

. In the 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...

 primary, he faced Arlene S. Loeffler, the president of the Riverview School Board
Riverview School District (Pennsylvania)
The Riverview School District is a small, suburban public school district serving the Pittsburgh suburbs or Oakmont, Pennsylvania and Verona, Pennsylvania. Riverview School District encompasses approximately 2 square miles. According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of...

. He won with 2,870 votes, or 53%, against Loeffler's 2,524 votes, or 47%.

In the general election, Dermody faced one-term Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 incumbent Ted V. Kondrich. The criminal justice system, education, and the environment were regarded as the top issues of the campaign. Dermody ultimately defeated Kondrich, receiving 9,082 votes to Kondrich's 8,430. He has been re-elected every two years since.

Dermody was chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts in the Judiciary Committee from 1991 to 2006, and served on the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing from 1991 to 2010, including 14 years as commission chairman. In 1994, he was selected by House leaders to lead the investigation into charges against Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen
Rolf Larsen
Rolf Larsen a Democrat originally from Allegheny County, was first elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1978.In 1981, a public feud between Larsen and Justice Robert N. C. Nix, Jr. took on racial undertones when newspapers reported that Larsen allegedly threatened to publicize the fact...

, serving as a key prosecutor in the impeachment trial that led to Larsen's eventual removal.

He served as chairman of the Allegheny County's House Democratic delegation (1994-2006) and as caucus secretary (2006-2008). In 2009, he was elected Majority Whip, the second-highest position for his party in the House. In late 2010, he was chosen to be Democratic Leader for the 2011-12 session.

Personal life

Dermody resides in Oakmont with his wife, Debra (née Hewetson) Dermody, who was his classmate in law school. They have two children, Frank and Cara.

External links


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