Ernest Kline

Ernest P. "Ernie" Kline (June 20, 1929 – May 13, 2009) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and the 25th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1971-1979.

Ernest Kline
25th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
In office
January 19, 1971 – January 16, 1979
GovernorMilton Shapp
Preceded byRaymond Broderick
Succeeded byWilliam Scranton III
Democratic Leader
of the Pennsylvania Senate
In office
August 1, 1967[1] – November 30, 1970
Preceded byJohn Devlin
Succeeded byThomas Lamb
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 47th district
In office
January 5, 1965 – January 5, 1971[2]
Preceded byJohn Carl Miller
Succeeded byJohn Good, Jr.
ConstituencyParts of Beaver and Washington Counties.
Personal details
BornJune 20, 1929
Allentown, Pennsylvania
DiedMay 13, 2009(2009-05-13) (aged 79)
Hershey Medical Center[3]
Political partyDemocratic
Children7 children[4]
Residence(s)Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania[4]
Palmyra, Pennsylvania[4]
Alma materDuquesne University

Early life, career

Kline was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and grew up in the Webster neighborhood of Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania.[4] He attended Rostraver High School, where he was the starting quarterback and graduated in 1947.[4] He attended Duquesne University, but was unable to afford completing his degree.[4] He took a career in radio news broadcasting in Charleroi, Pennsylvaia, Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and at WBVP-AM in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.[4] He entered politics after covering city council; he was elected to the Beaver Falls City Council in 1955.[4] In 1961, he was appointed to be a workers' compensation referee for Beaver, Washington, and Greene Counties.[4]

Politics

He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1964, taking office in 1965.[5] In August 1967, he was elected Democratic Floor Leader, becoming the youngest person to hold that position.[4]

He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania on the Milton Shapp gubernatorial ticket in November 1970. As a Western Pennsylvanian, Kline provided balance to the Democratic ticket, which had Philadelphian Milton Shapp.[3] Kline held that position from 1971 to 1979. He was the first Lieutenant Governor to live in State House, the Lieutenant Governor's official residence.[6]

He served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1972 and 2000.[7] He is credited for taking steps to establish the Governor's Energy Council during the 1973 oil crisis and for leading the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.[8] He ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1978, but lost a highly contested primary to Peter Flaherty, who eventually lost to Dick Thornburgh.[8]

Later life and death

Kline retired from political life after his stint as lieutenant governor and served as a lobbyist.[4] He lived in Palmyra, Pennsylvania until his death in 2009 at the age of 79.[3]

References
  1. https://docs.google.com/viewer?
  2. Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1971-1972" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  3. Hockensmith, Dustin (May 13, 2009). "Former Lt. Gov. Ernest P. Kline dies at 79". Patriot News. Archived from the original on 2009-12-10.
  4. Gurman, Sadie (2009-05-15). "Obituary: Ernest P. Kline / Lieutenant governor under Shapp". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "K"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  6. "Lieutenant governor moving into grand State House". 11 January 2009.
  7. Kestenbaum, Lawrence (March 24, 2009). "Index to Politicians: Kline". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  8. Long, Heather (May 25, 2009). "Remembering Ernie Kline: He leaves a legacy that should be followed". Patriot News. Archived from the original on 2009-12-10.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.