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Christopher Pielli

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Christopher Pielli
Image of Christopher Pielli

Democratic Party

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Compensation

Base salary

$106,422.33/year

Per diem

$185/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Temple University, 1988

Law

Temple University, Beasley School of Law, 2000

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1989 - 1995

Personal
Profession
Government administrator
Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Christopher Pielli (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 156. He assumed office on December 1, 2022. His current term ends on November 30, 2026.

Pielli (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 156. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Pielli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Christopher Pielli graduated from East Senior High School in 1984. Pielli served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1995. He earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University in 1988 and a J.D. from Temple University in 2000. Pielli's career experience includes working as a government administrator.[1][2][3]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Pielli was assigned to the following committees:


The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156

Incumbent Christopher Pielli defeated Kris R. Vollrath in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Pielli
Christopher Pielli (D) Candidate Connection
 
58.6
 
22,786
Image of Kris R. Vollrath
Kris R. Vollrath (R) Candidate Connection
 
41.3
 
16,059
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
41

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 38,886
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156

Incumbent Christopher Pielli advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on April 23, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Pielli
Christopher Pielli Candidate Connection
 
99.7
 
6,184
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
21

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 6,205
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156

Kris R. Vollrath advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on April 23, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kris R. Vollrath
Kris R. Vollrath Candidate Connection
 
98.7
 
4,015
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.3
 
54

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 4,069
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Pielli in this election.

2022

See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156

Christopher Pielli defeated Heidi Vanderwaal in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Pielli
Christopher Pielli (D) Candidate Connection
 
59.6
 
18,510
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Heidi Vanderwaal (R)
 
40.4
 
12,537

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 31,047
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156

Christopher Pielli advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on May 17, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christopher Pielli
Christopher Pielli Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
7,391

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,391
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156

Heidi Vanderwaal advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on May 17, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Heidi Vanderwaal
 
100.0
 
6,215

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,215
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance


Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Christopher Pielli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pielli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I've built my career around service to our country and community starting with serving in the U.S. Army to my current service as State Representative for HD156. I’m an attorney by trade barred in NY, NJ, and PA but I have been a soldier, a teacher, a Correctional Counselor/Officer, Veteran’s advocate, and more. Most importantly, I am a husband and father. Long ago I pledged to support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and I am resolved to make that pledge again to all of you. As your State Representative I will continue fighting with every fiber of my being to give us a living wage, protect our environment, our voting rights, a woman’s right to choose, our local economy, your children's education, and a citizen’s right to enjoy the equal protection of the law no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion, because Government that doesn’t work for everyone inevitably will not work for anyone.
  • I can’t limit it to three. I feel that there are too many policy priorities that have been neglected for too long and must be addressed immediately. Priorities such as Jobs, Infrastructure, the Environment, the Protection of our Voting Rights, Proper Funding for Public Education, Business Development, common sense Gun Safety Laws, Women’s Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, regulation and protection from dangerous uses of Artificial Intelligence, a minimum wage increase, and the Defense of our Republic and our Constitutional Rights are all in dire need of immediate attention. Despite a one seat majority, our Caucus was able to pass over 200 bills that tried to address most of these issues and more. Unfortunately, of those 200+ bills we
  • Please See Above.
  • Please See Above.
Jobs, Infrastructure, the Environment, Voting Rights, Public Education Funding, Business Development, Gun Safety Laws, Women’s Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, regulating Artificial Intelligence, a minimum wage increase, and the Defense of our Democratic Republic are all in need of immediate attention. Despite a one seat majority, our Caucus was able to pass over 200 bills that tried to address most of these issues and more. Unfortunately, of those 200+ bills we passed, 165 of them have been blocked by the State Senate leadership. I will continue to press for legislation that addresses these priorities. These are challenging times, and we must fight to ensure the future of our Democracy by promptly taking on all these issues and more.
"It's a Wonderful Life" and the "Darkest Hour" are two films that I recommend and that somewhat reflects my political philosophy.
Honesty, empathy, resilience, and loyalty to the Constitution and the Republic for which it stands. I believe that one of the most important attributes to be a successful Representative is to listen and learn. You don't know it all and you won't be able to effectively help people if you don't listen and learn from them. I also think that you must take on this job with a strong sense of humility and surround yourself with a team of capable folks who not only support your ideas but are also not afraid to tell you that you may be wrong. A good leader listens to the views of others and recognizes that he/she may sometimes have made the wrong call. That can be a learning moment which can only help you improve going forward. Finally, I think you have to truly enjoy helping people. If you don't then you are in the wrong business because the most important part of this job is trying to improve the lives of your fellow citizens.
I’m the only candidate with public service experience starting with serving in the Army to my current service as State Representative. I’ve been a soldier, a Court appointed Attorney, a teacher, Program Director for Homeless Veterans, a Correctional Officer and more. I’m the only candidate that has successfully overseen multimillion-dollar government agencies. As a West Goshen Twp. Supervisor, I’m proud that we did not raise taxes and maintained balanced budgets and healthy surpluses each year of my tenure. As Recorder of Deeds, we increased County revenue to over $9 million, cut overall fees and improved the department in multiple, cost saving ways. Despite the COVID shutdown, we never stopped sending millions of revenue dollars to our schools and our local municipalities. As a new Representative I passed 3 bills in the House, 1 Resolution and had a bill signed into actual law with bi-partisan support, HB1278 – the Renewal and Amending of the Wiretap Act. In addition, I helped to bring over $7.5 million in grants to our Community. I’m the only experienced, tested and proven candidate, and I’m ready to continue proudly representing the residents of the 156th.
Helping people with their problems and trying to improve their lives. One is reactive (i.e. constituent services) and the other is proactive (legislation).
That I helped to improve the lives of the citizens and the lives of future generations of our District and our Commonwealth.
Not at this point in time.
Not entirely and not for all situations. For example, while there are limits on the Governor using emergency powers there are certain situations that would demand immediate action for the health, safety, and welfare of citizens that would best be executed by the Governor.
I have introduced many bills during my first session including one that was recently signed into law, HB 1278. For more information on this bills I have introduced and sponsored please visit https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/House_bio.cfm?id=1975.
I have received many endorsements and continue to receive them on a daily basis such as: Planned Parenthood, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club and more.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Candidate Connection

Christopher Pielli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pielli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I've built my career around public service starting with the U.S. Army and now as Chester County Recorder of Deeds. I’m an attorney by trade but I have been a soldier, a teacher, a Correctional Counselor/Officer, Veteran’s advocate, and more. Most importantly, I’m a husband and father.

I ‘m a long-time resident of West Chester. After serving in the Army, I attended Temple University Law School with help from the GI Bill. During this time, I married my lovely wife, Christine, and worked as a Correctional Officer and later as a Correctional Counselor. I was elected as a West Goshen Township Supervisor in 2015. I’m proud of the fact that we passed balanced budgets and surpluses each year of my tenure. In 2019 I was elected Recorder of Deeds. We reduced costs, raised record revenue, and improved the office in many ways. Most notably, we continued operating throughout the pandemic delivering much needed revenue to County municipalities and school districts including over $9 million in net County revenue which helped support our local economy. My success is due to my fellow dedicated colleagues and my wife of twenty-six years, Christine. We are the proud parents of two wonderful children and consider ourselves blessed to live in Chester County.

  • As your State Representative of the 156th I will fight for a living wage, protect our environment, our voting rights, a woman’s right to choose, small business owners, a robust state economy, and a citizen’s right to enjoy the equal protection of the law no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion, because Government that doesn’t work for everyone inevitably will not work for anyone.
  • It’s no secret that Harrisburg is broken and much of the dysfunction is created by the legislature itself. We can work towards finding solutions to our most pressing problems by taking the commonsense approach that most folks want from our elected officials, fiscal responsibility and social tolerance. Folks are scared and angry, yet I believe we share concerns regarding our families and future. Let’s start on what we can agree on
  • I am experienced, tested and proven and I am ready to represent the residents of the 156th on day one. As a Democratic West Goshen Supervisor, I received the most votes in a Republican majority township before Trump because I know how to work across the aisle to address problems we all share. I’m proud that we did not raise taxes and maintained balanced budgets and healthy surpluses each year of my tenure. As Recorder of Deeds, I helped to increase County revenue to over $9 million dollars, cut overall fees and improved the department in multiple, cost saving ways. All this during a historic Pandemic. We never stopped sending our municipalities and school districts millions of dollars of collected revenue throughout the shutdown.
There are many public policy priorities that I am passionate about that need our immediate attention in Harrisburg. Priorities such as Jobs, Infrastructure, the Environment, the Protection of our Voting Rights, Proper Funding for Public Education, a Woman's Right to Choose, and the Defense of our Republic and our Constitutional Rights are all in dire need of immediate attention due to the constant dysfunction and radical extremism in Harrisburg. These are challenging times, and we must fight to ensure the future of our Democracy by promptly taking on all these issues and more. It's time to quit extremist culture wars and get down to business. If you are to ask how I will try to approach these priorities I can tell you that I will try my best to employ the following three "personal" policies: I will seek solutions, not blame, reason not rage, and tolerance not hatred.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Christopher Pielli campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156Won general$116,054 $103,573
2022Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156Won general$168,129 $98,103
Grand total$284,183 $201,675
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Pennsylvania

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Pennsylvania scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023









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External links

Candidate

Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
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    Officeholder

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 4, 2022
    2. ↑ PA House of Representatives, "Chris Pielli," accessed February 3, 2023
    3. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 23, 2024

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Dianne Herrin (D)     		Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
    2022-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -


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