Mark Singel

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Mark Singel
Pennsylvania Senate
from the 35th district
In office
January 6, 1981 – January 20, 1987[1]
Preceded byLou Coppersmith
Succeeded byWilliam Stewart
Personal details
Born
Mark Stephen Singel

(1953-09-12) September 12, 1953 (age 70)
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materPennsylvania State University, University Park

Mark Stephen Singel (born September 12, 1953) is an

Bob Casey. Singel served as the state's acting governor from June 14, 1993 to December 13, 1993, during Casey's lengthy battle with amyloidosis
and subsequent multiple organ transplant.

Early life

Singel was born in

Penn State University
.

Political career

Singel was elected to the

1990
.

During his second term, Governor Casey was diagnosed with Appalachian familial

organ transplant
. During his lengthy recovery, Singel served as Pennsylvania's acting governor.

Singel sought and lost the Democratic senatorial nomination in

1992 to Lynn Yeakel, who went on to narrowly lose the general election to incumbent Arlen Specter
.

1994 gubernatorial campaign

Main article:
Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1994

Singel won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1994 and faced Republican

U.S. Congressman Tom Ridge
in the general election. Singel lost the general election to Ridge. Some people in the party blamed Casey for Singel's loss, noting that Casey, who was
pro-choice
Singel. Casey declined to either campaign or raise money for Singel's candidacy – an incident that reportedly caused a deep rift between the two men.

Singel's loss was also attributed to the influence of the Reginald McFadden case. McFadden had been sentenced to life in prison in 1970 for a robbery/homicide. In 1992, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons voted to release him. At the time, Singel, as Lt. Governor, served on the board and had voted in favor of McFadden's release. The vote of the entire board was 4 - 1 in favor of release. In 1994 (during the gubernatorial race), McFadden was released from prison (after Gov. Casey signed the commutation papers) and subsequently murdered two people and kidnapped and raped a third within 90 days of being released. When news of the murders broke, Singel's opponent, Tom Ridge, turned Singel's vote to release McFadden into a campaign issue. This issue, which was compared to the case of Willie Horton, was cited as another reason why Singel lost the campaign.[2] The story of Reginald McFadden's crime spree was later the focus of an episode of This American Life.[3]

Later career

After Singel's unsuccessful gubernatorial bid, he remained active in Democratic politics. He served as chairman of the

2000, but withdrew his name from consideration and backed eventual nominee, Pittsburgh-area Congressman Ron Klink
.

In 2000, Singel joined the Philadelphia-based law firm Duane Morris as lobbyist and director of its Johnstown, Pennsylvania, branch office. Singel started his own firm, The Winter Group, in 2005 and continues to practice government affairs today in downtown Harrisburg.

The Pennsylvania Report named him to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics, describing him as a Harrisburg lobbyist and "

2002 gubernatorial election and "had a big hand in filling positions with the new [Rendell] administration."[6] He also occasionally teaches classes at the local Penn State Harrisburg campus. He was named to the PoliticsPA list of "Sy Snyder's Power 50" list of influential individuals in Pennsylvania politics in 2003.[7]

On February 19, 2010, Singel announced his intention to run in the

special election to fill the seat of the late Democrat John Murtha, provided Murtha's widow decided not to run. He ended his bid for Congress ten days later, citing the need for the party to unite behind one candidate.[8]

References

  1. ^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1987-1988" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  2. New York Times
    , October 2, 2005. (retrieved on December 10, 2008.)
  3. ^ "20 Years Later". 9 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Singel says goal is to rebuild party". The Reading Eagle. June 5, 1995. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  5. ^ Jackson, Peter (January 2, 1998). "Singel resigns as state Dem leader". The Observer-Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  6. ^ "The PA Report "Power 75" List" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capital Growth, Inc. January 31, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2006.
  7. ^ "Power 50". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2003. Archived from the original on 2004-04-17.
  8. ^ Kraushaar, Josh (February 25, 2010). "Mark Singel drops out of race to replace Murtha". Politico. Retrieved February 26, 2010.

External links

Pennsylvania State Senate
Preceded by Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 35th district
1981–1987 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
1986, 1990 		Succeeded by
Tom Foley
Preceded by
Bob Casey
Governor of Pennsylvania
1994
 Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party
1995–1997 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
1987–1995
Acting Governor
1993 		Succeeded by
Mark Schweiker
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