Joan Specter
Joan Specter | |
---|---|
Member of the Philadelphia City Council from the At-Large District | |
In office January 7, 1980 – January 8, 1996 | |
Preceded by | Ethel D. Allen |
Succeeded by | Frank Rizzo Jr. |
Personal details | |
Born | Joan Levy January 1, 1934 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Alma mater | Southern Connecticut College Drexel University |
Joan Levy Specter (born March 5, 1934) is an American businesswoman and politician. She is a former member of the
Professional career
Specter holds a BA from Southern Connecticut College and an MA in food and design from Drexel University. Upon her graduation from Drexel, she founded several cooking schools in the Philadelphia-area.[1] In the 1970s, she hosted a consumer advice and food-related program on a local radio station, and wrote a weekly column for the Philadelphia Bulletin. Specter also began selling her pies to local restaurants. Eventually, the business grew into a wholesale distribution company which operated in several dozen states. Specter's pies were billed as "America's first gourmet frozen pies which require no baking, decorating or special preparations".[2]
Political career
Specter left the business world in 1979, when she was elected to one of the two allotted minority Republican Party at-large seats on the Philadelphia City Council. She was re-elected three more times, though she finished third in the 1991 primary, behind her colleague on Council,
In 1995, she and Longstreth were challenged by two high-profile Republicans–Rizzo's son, Frank Jr. and former Congressman Charles Dougherty.[3]
Personal life
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Joan Specter" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2019) |
Specter was married to her husband, Arlen, from 1953 until his death in 2012. The couple has two sons, Shanin and Dr. Stephen E. Specter of West Hollywood, CA. She currently resides in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
References
- ^ a b Marder, Dianna (October 16, 1995). "Joan Specter Stirring For Battle For 5th Term". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ Stoneback, Diane (November 12, 1986). "Upper Crust Joan Specter's Gourmet Pies Are A Slice Of The Rich Life Food". The Morning Call. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ "Joan Specter's Tough Race". The New York Times. October 29, 1995. Retrieved February 16, 2012.