Judy Schwank

American politician

Judy Schwank


Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 11th district
Incumbent
Assumed office April 5, 2011^[1]
Preceded by	Michael O'Pake
Member of the Berks County Board of Commissioners
In office January 3, 2000 – January 7, 2008
Preceded by	Anthony Carabello^[2]
Succeeded by	Kevin Barnhardt

Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jim
Children	3
Residence	Fleetwood
Alma mater	Pennsylvania State University Harvard University

Judith Schwank (born 1951) is an American politician. A Democrat, she was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate from the 11th district in a special election on March 15, 2011 to succeed the late Michael O'Pake.^[3] The district includes the city of Reading and most of eastern Berks County.

Education

Schwank attended the Pennsylvania State University, where she earned a B.S. and M.Ed. in agricultural education.^[4] She continued her studies at Harvard University, where she completed the Executive Leadership Program through the Institute for Conservation Leadership and the Institute for the Management of Life-Long Education.^[5]

Career

Schwank then worked as a Berks County horticultural agent with the Penn State Cooperative Extension for 19 years, during which time she established the Master Gardener Program.^[5] In 1991, she became the first female director of the Berks County Cooperative Extension Program, a position she held until 1999.^[6]

From 2000 to 2007, Schwank served two terms as an elected Berks County Commissioner.^[4] She also served as the Commission chair from 2004 to 2007.^[7] ""I always thought Berks County was property-tax central," said state Sen. Judy Schwank, a Democrat whose district is in Berks County." ^[8] In 2004, she was appointed by Governor Ed Rendell as chair of the Pennsylvania State Planning Board.^[7] She later served as President and CEO of 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, a statewide non-profit organization that promotes responsible land use and development.^[5] In January 2010, she was appointed Dean of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley College.^[7]

Pennsylvania Senate

2011 special election

On December 27, 2010, longtime Democratic State Senator Michael O'Pake died from complications following heart surgery.^[6] A special election was announced to fill the remaining two years in O'Pake's four-year term. On January 22, 2011, Schwank was nominated by the Berks County Democratic Committee and subsequently approved by the state committee.^[9]

Her Republican opponent was Larry Medaglia, the Berks County register of wills. On March 15, Schwank soundly defeated Medaglia by a margin of 58%-42%.^[10] She received 20,124 votes to Medaglia's 14,794.^[10]

Committee assignments

Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Minority Chair ^[11]
Aging & Youth^[11]
Appropriations^[11]
Game & Fisheries^[11]
Health & Human Services^[11]

References

^ "Schwank Sworn in to State Senate". The Reading Eagle. 2011-04-05. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
^ Young, Mary E. (November 3, 1999). "Carabello loses out by 276 votes". The Reading Eagle. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
^ Young, Mary E. (2011-03-15). "Schwank wins 11th District state Senate seat". Reading Eagle.
^ ^a ^b "Ag Ed Alumna Takes Delaware Valley Post". Penn State Ag Science Magazine.
^ ^a ^b ^c "About Judy Schwank". Judy Schwank for State Senate. Archived from the original on 2011-02-28.
^ ^a ^b Phyrillas, Tony (2011-03-15). "Schwank captures O'Pake's Senate seat". The Mercury. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c "DelVal appoints new dean for agriculture". Delaware Valley College. 2010-01-28.
^ Reinbrecht, Steve. "Why don't law makers fix property taxes?". bctv.org. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
^ Young, Mary E. (2011-01-23). "It's Schwank vs. Medaglia for state Senate seat". Reading Eagle.
^ ^a ^b "2011 Special Election for the 11th Senatorial District". Pennsylvania Department of State.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Senator Judith L. Schwank". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2021-11-19.