Mark S. Schweiker

Mark Stephen Schweiker
Schweiker on far right
44th Governor of Pennsylvania
In office October 5, 2001 – January 21, 2003
Lieutenant	Robert Jubelirer
Preceded by	Tom Ridge
Succeeded by	Ed Rendell
2nd Acting Governor of Pennsylvania
In office September 20, 2001 – October 5, 2001
Governor	Tom Ridge
Preceded by	Mark Singel[a]
Succeeded by	Most Recent
28th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
In office January 17, 1995 – October 5, 2001
Governor	Tom Ridge
Preceded by	Mark Singel
Succeeded by	Robert Jubelirer
Member of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners
In office January 4, 1988 – January 17, 1995
Preceded by	Carl Fonash
Succeeded by	Mike Fitzpatrick
Personal details
Born	(1953-01-31) January 31, 1953 Levittown, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Katherine Schweiker
Children	Brett, Eric & Kara
Profession	Businessman, Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic
a. ^ Office vacant from December 13, 1993 – September 20, 2001

Mark Stephen Schweiker^[1][2] (born January 31, 1953) is a businessman and politician who served as the 44th Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2001 to 2003. Schweiker, a Republican, became Governor of Pennsylvania in 2001, when his predecessor, Tom Ridge, resigned to become Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush.

Early life

Mark Schweiker, second son of John and Mary Schweiker, was born in Philadelphia's Temple University Hospital and later raised in Levittown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He is of German and Irish descent. . He attended Bishop Egan High School in Bucks County and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He holds a master’s degree in administration from Rider University. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Rider University in 2004. After college he entered the business world and held positions at Sadlier Oxford and McGraw Hill. Later, he formed his own management consulting firm.

Political career

Bucks County politics

Schweiker entered politics in 1979 when he successfully ran for supervisor of Middletown Township. In 1987, he was elected Bucks County Commissioner. Schweiker and fellow Republican Andrew Warren overturned a Democratic majority on the board, largely on the strength of opposition to a water project planned for Point Pleasant.^[3][4]

Lieutenant Governor

In 1994, Schweiker successfully ran for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Schweiker ran in the fall general election alongside Congressman Tom Ridge, the gubernatorial nominee. The Ridge/Schweiker ticket won the election, beating the Democratic ticket of incumbent Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel (the gubernatorial nominee), and State Labor and Industry Secretary Tom Foley (the nominee for Lieutenant Governor) by a margin of 45.40% to 39.89%. Constitution Party candidate Peg Luksik captured 12.8 percent of the vote. The Ridge/Schweiker ticket easily won reelection in 1998.

As Lieutenant Governor, Schweiker chaired the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council, The Board of Pardons, The Governor's Council on Recycling Development and Waste Reduction, oversaw the Statewide Radio Network, and was involved with Pennsylvania’s anti-terrorism task force and the “Weed and Seed” anti-crime initiative.

In a 2002 PoliticsPA Feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named "Missing in Action."^[5]

Governor

Schweiker had decided against a run for the governor's office in 2002 and was preparing to finish out his term when the September 11th terrorist attack occurred. Ridge resigned as governor on October 5, 2001 to join the Bush administration as Homeland Security Advisor. Schweiker began preparing for the transition as Acting Governor on September 20, and was formally sworn-in as the Commonwealth's 44th Governor on the day of Ridge's resignation.^[6][7][7][8] By provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution, Robert Jubelirer, the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate, became Lieutenant Governor. This became a matter of some controversy as Jubelirer retained his position leadership position and seat in the state senate.^[9]

In the wake of the terrorist attacks, Schweiker moved to secure Pennsylvania’s five nuclear reactors, created the Governor's Task Force on Security, and expanded the ranks of the Pennsylvania State Police. Schweiker also faced budget shortfalls due to the economic collapse following the attacks and a crisis in the School District of Philadelphia.

Schweiker negotiated the state takeover of the school district and also was the first governor of Pennsylvania to put state funds into pre-school activities. He also passed the most significant tort reform measures in recent decades, when he replaced Ridge, a former trial lawyer less inclined to push those measures.

Schweiker's most famous contribution as governor came in July 2002, during the Quecreek Mine disaster in Somerset County, when he personally oversaw the 77-hour operation that saved the lives of nine trapped coal miners from the Quecreek mine. Following the rescue, Schweiker implemented a series of new safety procedures to provide better protection for miners.

Schweiker held to his decision not to stand for the 2002 governor's race despite several polls that showed him with a comfortable lead in a hypothetical matchup with eventual Democratic nominee Ed Rendell. Rendell won the election and was sworn in as Schweiker's successor in early 2003.

He was named to the PoliticsPA list of "Sy Snyder's Power 50" list of influential individuals in Pennsylvania politics in 2003.^[10]

Post Governorship

He left office when his term expired on January 21, 2003. Schweiker became President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in February 2003 and served until 2009 when he announced his resignation to join Philadelphia area pharmaceutical manufacturer PRWT as President of business process outsourcing. He also works as a consultant to the law firm of Stradley Ronon. In late 2010, rumors began circulating that Schweiker was considering a run for the Republican nomination for Senate in the 2012 election facing Democratic incumbent Bob Casey, Jr. Polls showed him as the Republican's best match up against Casey but still trailing the first term incumbent. In January 2011 Schweiker issued a statement indicating that he would not run for the nomination choosing instead to focus on his business career.^[11]

References

v t e Governors and Presidents of Pennsylvania Presidents (1777–1790) Wharton Bryan Reed Moore Dickinson Franklin Mifflin Governors (since 1790) Mifflin McKean Snyder Findlay Hiester Shulze Wolf Ritner Porter Shunk Johnston Bigler Pollock Packer Curtin Geary Hartranft Hoyt Pattison Beaver Pattison Hastings Stone Pennypacker Stuart Tener Brumbaugh Sproul Pinchot Fisher Pinchot Earle James Martin Bell Duff Fine Leader Lawrence Scranton Shafer Shapp Thornburgh Casey Ridge Schweiker Rendell Corbett

v t e Lieutenant Governors and Vice-Presidents of Pennsylvania Vice-Presidents (1777–1790) Bryan M. Smith Moore Potter Ewing Irvine Biddle Muhlenberg Redick Ross Lieutenants Governors (since 1875) Latta Stone Black Davies Watres Lyon Gobin Brown Murphy Reynolds McClain Beidleman D. Davis James Shannon Kennedy Lewis Bell Strickler Wood Furman J. Davis Shafer Broderick Kline Scranton Singel Schweiker Jubelirer Knoll Scarnati Cawley