Charlie Dent
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Charlie Dent (born May 24, 1960 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is a Republican Member of Congress, representing the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.
Dent was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004, succeeding Pat Toomey, who gave up his seat to challenge Arlen Specter for the U.S. Senate. He currently represents Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional district ([map]).
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Education
Dent is a 1978 graduate of Allentown's William Allen High School. He received a Bachelors in International Politics from Penn State University in 1982 and a Masters in Public Administration from Lehigh University in 1993.Pennsylvania State House
Before being elected to the United States Congress, Dent was a member of the State Legislature for 14 years. He represented Pennsylvania's 132nd house district from 1991 - 1999 after unseating Democratic incumbent Jack Pressman in a heavily Democratic district in 1990. In 1998, Dent won an open 16th District Senate seat when Democrat Roy C. Afflerbach (Mayor of Allentown 2002-2006) retired in an unsuccessful bid for Congress.He has also worked as a college fundraiser, an electronics salesman, a hotel clerk and a congressional aide.
Congressional races
During his 2004 campaign, Dent said he would use his platform in Congress to prevent other states from shipping waste into Pennsylvania and to secure funds to build a new bridge for the American Parkway across the Lehigh River in Allentown. His opponent was well-funded but faced some criticism as he had not been a resident of the district prior to his candidacy.In 2006, Dent expected to face one of two Democrats. However, neither was able to obtain enough signatures to get on the primary election ballot, though Democratic Northampton County Councilman Charles Dertinger is attempting a write-in campaign for his party's nomination during the May 16, 2006 primary election [link].
Politically important district
Dent represents a Pennsylvania Congressional district, comprised principally of Lehigh County and Northampton County, that is considered politically important nationally, since it is usually heavily contested, with neither Republicans nor Democrats having been able to win the district consistently. In the 2004 election, both President George W. Bush and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, visited the district with regularity in an effort to win its swing voters. The result in the district was 148,679 votes for Kerry (a 103-vote margin of victory) over 148,576 votes for Bush.Political stances
Dent is a proponent of alternative energy sources and is one of the four founding members of the House Hydrogen Fuel Cell Caucus.Dent is pro-choice and a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership (a group that strongly supports stem cell research).
He voted against Federal intervertion in the case of Terri Schiavo. Dent replied afterwards that he simply involved government intervention in a personal matter and would have voted the same way had courts sided with Schiavo's parents.
Dent has also supported hate crimes legislation as a State Senator as well as a Congressman. This support has led to attacks from conservatives that Rep. Dent is pro-gay rights. However, the Human Rights Campaign gave him a 20% rating for his first term, having voted against several other bills favored by gay rights activists. [link]
He also is co-sponsor of legislation to provide the District of Columbia with voting representation.[(HR 2043)].
Dent resides in Allentown. He is married to Pamela Dent and has three children.
Election results
2004 - United States House of Representatives Charlie Dent (R)- 170,634 - 58.6% Joe Driscoll (D)- 114,646 - 39.4% Richard Piotrowski (Lib) - 3,660 - 1.3% Greta Browne (Grn) - 2,194 - 0.7%External links
- [Rep. Charlie Dent] - Official House Web Page.
- [Charlie Dent profile, NNDB].
- [record maintained by The Washington Post.]
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