John Blake (Pennsylvania)
John Blake (Democratic Party) was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing District 22. He assumed office in 2011. He left office on March 8, 2021.
Blake (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Pennsylvania State Senate to represent District 22. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Blake left office as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate on March 8, 2021, to work for U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D).[1]
Biography
Blake earned his bachelor's degree in Sociology from Villanova University, his master's degree in social work from Marywood College and his MBA in Finance from the University of Scranton Kania School of Management. His professional experience includes being the executive director of the Lackawanna County Redevelopment Authority, a Community Builders Fellow with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, becoming vice-president and senior development advisor for PNC Bank’s community development division and most recently working as the Director for the Northeast PA Office of the Governor.[2]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Blake was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Local Government Committee
- Senate Finance Committee, Minority Chair
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Finance, Minority chair |
| • Local Government, Minority chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Blake served on the following committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Finance, Minority Chair |
| • Appropriations, Minority Vice-Chair |
| • Community, Economic & Recreational Development |
| • Environmental Resources & Energy |
| • Local Government |
| • Urban Affairs & Housing |
| • Capitol Preservation |
| • Local Government Commission |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Blake served on the following committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Finance, Minority Chair |
| • Appropriations |
| • Community, Economic & Recreational Development |
| • Labor & Industry |
| • Local Government |
| • Capitol Preservation, Democratic Chair |
| • Local Government Commission |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Blake served on these committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Local Government Commission |
| • Appropriations |
| • Community, Economic & Recreational Development |
| • Intergovernmental Operations, Minority Chair |
| • Labor & Industry |
| • Local Government, Minority Chair |
| • Urban Affairs & Housing |
Campaign themes
2010
Blake’s website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
The Legislature
- Excerpt: Blake will work to "eliminate 'per diem' payments in favor of specific reimbursement for eligible costs incurred by legislators" and "call for an independent audit of the legislature's administrative expenditures."
Economic Development
- Excerpt: Blake will work to "expand the job creation tax credit program to leverage new private investment in job growth" and "invest in core infrastructure including roads, bridges and mass transit, to make us safer and more business-friendly and that will put people to work quickly."
Marcellus Shale Natural Gas
- Excerpt: Blake will work to "levy a severance tax now on natural gas extraction similar to that currently levied in West Virginia and ensure revenue sharing with the local communities most affected by drilling operations" and "offer incentives to promote traditional as well as new, innovative uses of PA natural gas to allow our businesses and consumers to benefit from our close proximity to this abundant resource."
Seniors
- Excerpt: "The Commonwealth must retain and expand assistance to our senior citizens and to persons with disabilities."
Working Families
- Excerpt: Blake supports "community programs that advance the creation of affordable housing" and "enhance the availability of quality day care and retain/support children's health insurance."
Education
- Excerpt: Blake "will support public education by working to maintain or increase the state’s current share of funding of the cost of public education" and "achieve improved equity and fairness in the allocation of state funding for public education across economically diverse school districts."
Local Government
- Excerpt: Blake "will advance programs in support of local government that offer incentives for the regionalization of municipal services and land use planning" and "rovide incentives for energy and operational efficiencies for school districts and local government facilities."
Business Taxes
- Excerpt: Blake "will work toward tax reform policies that will require Mandatory Combined Reporting by PA corporatiosn and close the Delaware loophole" and "reduce the Corporate Net Income Tax to promote business investment."
Sponsored legislation
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
2018
General election
General election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22
Incumbent John Blake defeated Frank Scavo III in the general election for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John Blake (D) | 61.3 | 59,249 |
| Frank Scavo III (R) | 38.7 | 37,363 | ||
| Total votes: 96,612 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22
Incumbent John Blake advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Blake | 100.0 | 19,552 |
| Total votes: 19,552 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22
Frank Scavo III advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Frank Scavo III | 100.0 | 8,623 | |
| Total votes: 8,623 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2014
Elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in that election was March 11, 2014. Incumbent John Blake was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Joe Albert was unopposed in the Republican primary. Blake defeated Albert in the general election.[4][5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  John Blake Incumbent |
68.3% | 45,716 | |
| Republican | Joe Albert | 31.7% | 21,213 | |
| Total Votes | 66,929 | |||
2010
Blake defeated Charles Volpe, Christopher Doherty, Jim Wansacz, Joseph Corcoran, and Christopher Phillips in the May 18 Democratic primary and defeated Republican Frank Scavo in the November 2 general election.[7]
| Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John Blake (D)
|
49,299 | |||
| Frank Scavo (R) | 29,432 | |||
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.
Scorecards
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.
2021
In 2021, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 5 to December 31.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil rights and civil liberties issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 7 to November 30.
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2018
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In 2018, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 2 through November 30.
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2017
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In 2017, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 5 through November 30.
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2015
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In 2015, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 6 through December 31.
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2014
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In 2014, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 7 through November 12.
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2013
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In 2013, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 2 to December 31.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 3 to November 30.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 4 through November 30.
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Endorsements
2014
In 2014, Blake's endorsements included the following:[8]
- American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
- Association of PA State College & University Facilities
- PSEA-PACE Pennsylvania State Education Association
- Scranton Federation of Teachers, SFT Local 1147
- Service Employees International Union
- United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 645
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Blake and his wife Louise have two children, Vince and Katie.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "John + Blake + Pennsylvania + Senate'"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Pennsylvania State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Joint Committees
- Pennsylvania state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- John Blake on Facebook
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ The Citizens Voice, "Blake to resign state Senate seat for post with Cartwright," February 16, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 John Blake Senate, "About John," accessed May 16, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ John Blake Senate, "Platform," accessed May 16, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Official primary results for May 20, 2014," accessed July 9, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2014 Official Candidate Listing," accessed March 19, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2014 General Election," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2010 General Election Results," accessed May 2, 2014
- ↑ John Blake for Senate, "Endorsements," accessed September 3, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Mellow (D) |
Pennsylvania State Senate District 22 2011–2021 |
Succeeded by NA |
