Jennifer L. Mann is the current
DemocraticThe 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 RepresentativesThe 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....
for the
132nd DistrictThe 132nd Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Lehigh County and includes the following areas:* Allentown ** Ward 01** Ward 02** Ward 03** Ward 04** Ward 05** Ward 07** Ward 08** Ward 09** Ward 10** Ward 11** Ward 13...
and was elected in 1998.
Personal history
A lifelong Allentown resident, Mann graduated from William Allen High School in 1987. She then graduated from
Lehigh UniversityLehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
with a B.A. in Economics and Government in 1991.
Political career
In 1998, Mann ran for the House of Representatives, seeking the seat that was being vacated by
Charlie DentCharles "Charlie" Dent is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district includes all of Northampton County, most of Lehigh County, and small parts of Berks and Montgomery Counties....
when Dent ran for the State Senate. Mann first defeated Emma Tropiano in a primary before beating Allentown City Councilman and former Lehigh County Executive David Bausch in the general election. Mann became the first Democrat to represent the 132nd since Jack Pressman in 1990.
Mann has twice competed in elections for a different position. In 2005, she ran for the Pennsylvania State Senate in a special election, seeking to fill the vacancy created by Charlie Dent's election to Congress. Mann lost that race to then State Representative Pat Browne. In 2008, Mann sought the Democratic nomination for State Treasurer. She lost that race to Democrat Robert McCord.
Legislative career
Mann currently serves in House leadership as the Majority Caucus Secretary. She is only the third woman to serve in a House Democratic leadership position since the Pennsylvania legislature was formed.
During her tenure in the legislature, she has served on the House Finance, Environmental Resources and Energy, Consumer Affairs, Insurance and Transportation committees. She is the co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition, the Community College Caucus and the Arthritis Caucus. In 2003, the political website
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...
named her as a possible successor to House Minority Leader Bill DeWeese.
Nationally, she is a member of the Democratic Leadership Council Leadership Team, serving as the chairwoman of the DLC’s State Legislative Advisory Board (SLAB).
Mann currently serves in House leadership as the Majority Caucus Secretary. She is only the third woman to serve in a House Democratic leadership position since the Pennsylvania legislature was formed.
During her tenure in the legislature, she has served on the House Finance, Environmental Resources and Energy, Consumer Affairs, Insurance and Transportation committees. She is the co-chair of the New Democrat Coalition, the Community College Caucus and the Arthritis Caucus, and serves on the House Rules Committee.
External links