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Jane Orie
| Jane Orie | |
| Pennsylvania State Senate District 40 | |
| Former officeholder | |
| In office | |
| 2001-2012 | |
| Party | Republican |
| Leadership | |
| Majority Whip, Pennsylvania Senate | |
| 2007-2010 | |
| Compensation | |
| Base salary | $79,613/year |
| Per diem | No per diem |
| Elections and appointments | |
| Last election | November 2, 2010 |
| First elected | 2001 |
| Term limits | N/A |
| Prior offices | |
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| 1997-2001 | |
| Education | |
| Bachelor's | Franklin and Marshall College, 1984 |
| J.D. | Duquesne University School of Law, 1987 |
| Personal | |
| Birthday | September 18, 1961 |
| Place of birth | Pittsburgh, PA |
 | |
Contents |
Orie graduated from Franklin and Marshall with her Bachelor's degree in 1984 and from Duquesne Law with her Juris Doctor degree in 1987. Before becoming an elected official, Orie was Assistant District Attorney for Allegheny County and served as an Assistant Pennsylvania Attorney General working in the Criminal Prosecution division.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Orie was appointed to these committees:
- Aging & Youth, Vice Chair
- Community, Economic & Recreational
- Finance
- Intergovernmental Operations
- Judiciary
- Rules & Executive Nominations
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Orie served on these committees:
- Aging & Youth
- Appropriations
- Community, Economic, & Recreational Development
- Finance
- Judiciary
- Rules & Executive Nominations Vice-Chairwoman[2].
Elections
2010
Orie won re-election in District 40. She was unopposed in the May 18 Republican primary and defeated Democrat Dan DeMarco in the November 2 general election.[3]
| Pennsylvania State Senate District 40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Jane Orie (R)
|
58,825 | |||
| Dan DeMarco (D) | 42,643 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Orie was re-elected to Pennsylvania State Senate District 40.[4]
Orie raised $424,162 for this campaign.[5]
| Pennsylvania State Senate District 40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| ORIE, JANE CLARE (R)
|
77,566 | |||
| GRAHAM, CHRISTOPHER M. (CST) | 14,029 | |||
Campaign donors
2010
In 2010, Orie received $386,323 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.[6]
| Pennsylvania State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Jane Orie's campaign in 2010 | |
| Judge Orie Melvin For Supreme Court | $30,094 |
| Senate Republican Campaign Cmte Of Pennsylvania | $23,497 |
| Agras, James R | $9,500 |
| Highmark | $7,500 |
| Operating Engineers Local 66 | $7,000 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $386,323 |
2006
Orie raised $424,162 during the 2006 election cycle.
Her top contributors are listed below.[7]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Comcast | $27,650 |
| Theresa Petrick | $21,000 |
| Frank Polito | $13,300 |
| James Agras | $10,500 |
| James West | $10,000 |
| Logans Ferry LP | $10,000 |
| James W. West | $10,000 |
| Ira Gumberg | $7,800 |
| Hardy-Magerko PAC | $6,000 |
| Richard Simmons | $6,000 |
Issues
Campaign themes
Orie's campaign website lists two themes:[8]
- Reforming State Government Excerpt: "We must create an open bid process and provide transparency with who is receiving state contracts and their political contributions."
- Gaming Excerpt: Legislation supported by Orie "requires that the Gaming Control Board’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement to be independent from the Board -- to prevent the commingling of its investigatory/prosecutorial functions."
Controversies
Theft of services scandal
On May 21, Orie resigned her seat in the Pennsylvania State Senate after being convicted on ethics charges in March. Orie and her two sisters, Janine Orie and Joan Orie Melvin, were all charged with crimes relating to the use of state resources for campaign purposes. At the time of her resignation, only Sen. Orie had been convicted.
Janine Orie worked as chief of staff for Joan Orie Melvin, then a Superior Court judge, later a state Supreme Court judge. A retrial for Janine Orie was scheduled for August 13 after an earlier mistrial. Melvin was charged on May 18.[1]
A timeline of the Jane Orie conviction is as follows:
April 7, 2010: Jane and Janine Orie arrested and charged.[9]
February 7, 2011: Jane Orie trial began.[10]
March 3, 2011: Judge Jeffrey A. Manning declared a mistrial in the Jane Orie trial after determining that the defense submitted forged documents to the court. Janine Orie trial also halted.[11]
April 2011: Retrial scheduled to begin April 26.[12]
April 18, 2011: Retrial delayed until October 3, 2011, while Jane Orie challenges her retrial on the basis of double-jeopardy.[13]
August 2011: New charges filed against Jane Orie.[14]
September 27, 2011: PA Supreme court dismissed Jane Orie's double jeopardy appeal. Also, the trial court judge decided to consolidate the retrial and the trial on the August charges--scheduled to begin February 2012.[15][14]
February 29, 2012: Jane Orie retrial began.[16]
March 26, 2012: Jane Orie convicted on 14 counts and acquitted on 10 counts.[17]
May 21, 2012: Orie resigned from Pennsylvania State Senate.[1]
June 4, 2012: Sentencing scheduled.[1]
District 40
Orie represents Pennsylvania Senate District 40. District 40 includes the North Pittsburgh suburbs of Bradford Woods, Ross Township, Shaler Township[18].
Personal
Jane is single and resides in Wexford, Pennsylvania. Jane is the sister of 2009 Pennsylvania Supreme Court candidate Joan Orie Melvin.
External links
- Profile from the Pennsylvania Senate website
- Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
- Sen. Orie's website
- Campaign website
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 York Dispatch, "Convicted Pa. Sen. Orie submits resignation," May 21, 2012
- ↑ "Pennsylvania Senate" List of Standing Committee Assignments
- ↑ 2010 general election results from the Pennsylvania Secretary of State's office
- ↑ "Pennsylvania State Senate official election results for 2006"
- ↑ Follow the Money's report on 2006 campaign contributions
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2010 contributions
- ↑ 2006 Campaign contributors to Jane Orie
- ↑ Orie for Senate campaign website
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Senator Orie is charged in fraud," April 8, 2010
- ↑ Youngstown Vindicator, "Pretrial hearing to resume on Orie ’campaign’ case," December 14, 2012
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Mistrial declared in Orie case," March 3, 2011
- ↑ WPXI, "Retrial For Sen. Orie Set To Begin In Two Weeks," April 14, 2011
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Orie retrial delayed until Oct. by appeal," April 19, 2011
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Top court won't hear Orie appeal," September 29, 2011
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "State Superior Court dismisses Orie appeal," September 1, 2011
- ↑ CBS Pittsburgh, "Retrial Begins For State Sen. Jane Orie," February 29, 2012
- ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "State Sen. Jane Orie guilty on 14 counts, acquitted of 10," March 26, 2012
- ↑ "Pennsylvania Senate" Map of Metro Pittsburgh Senate Districts
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