George Gekas

George Gekas
George Gekas
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Pennsylvania's 17th district
	In office; January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Allen E. Ertel
Succeeded by	Tim Holden
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate; from the 15th district
	In office; January 3, 1977 – December 31, 1982
Preceded by	William Lentz
Succeeded by	John Shumaker
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; from the 103rd district
	In office; January 7, 1969 – November 30, 1974
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Stephen R. Reed
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; from the Dauphin County district
	In office; January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1968
Preceded by	???
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	George William Gekas; April 14, 1930; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	December 16, 2021 (aged 91); Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Dickinson College (BA); Dickinson Law School (JD)
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1953–1955

George William Gekas (April 14, 1930 – December 16, 2021) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district from 1983 to 2003.

Early life and education

George Gekas was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the son of Mary (Touloumes) and William Gekas.^[1] He graduated from William Penn High School in 1948. He received a B.A. degree from Dickinson College in 1952 and a J.D. degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1958. He was a member of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955.

Career

He worked in a private law practice for two years and then served as assistant district attorney for Dauphin County from 1960 to 1966.^[2]

Pennsylvania Legislature

In 1966, Gekas was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 103rd district.^[3] He served there until 1974, when he was upset by future Harrisburg mayor Steven Reed in the anti-Watergate Democratic landslide. Gekas served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 15th district from 1977 to 1982.^[4]

United States House of Representatives

After the 1980 census, Pennsylvania lost two congressional districts. The Republican-controlled legislature drew a new Harrisburg-based district that Gekas won in 1982, becoming the second Greek-American (after Gus Yatron of the neighboring 6th district) elected to Congress from Pennsylvania. Gekas was reelected nine more times.

He was the only member of the House to vote against the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990.

Gekas was one of the House managers in the impeachment trials of Alcee Hastings and President Bill Clinton.^[5]

2002 House Campaign

In a 2002 PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named "Missing in Action."^[6] Pennsylvania lost two districts after the 2000 census and resulting redistricting. One of the districts that was eliminated was the Reading-based 6th District, represented by five-term moderate-to-conservative Democrat Tim Holden. The legislature split the 6th among three other districts, with the largest slice, including Holden's home in St. Clair, going to Gekas' 17th District.

Holden ran in the 17th, even though it was 65% new to him (a small portion of the even more Republican 9th District had been shifted to the 17th). On election night, Holden defeated Gekas by almost 6,000 votes. Gekas was the only Republican incumbent placed in a district with a Democratic incumbent to be defeated for re-election in 2002.^[7]

Later life and death

After his electoral defeat in 2002, Gekas returned to Harrisburg, where he established a law practice.^[8] He continued to reside in Harrisburg until his death on December 16, 2021, at the age of 91.^[9]

References

"Congressman George W. Gekas Biography". U.S. House of Representatives. Archived from the original on December 25, 2002.

^ "Pennsylvania State Manual". 1976.
^ "Pennsylvania State Senate - George W Gekas Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
^ "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - GEORGE W. GEKAS Biography". www.legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1981-1982" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
^ "List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. United States House of Representatives Office of the Historian, Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
^ "Keystone State Yearbook Committee". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
^ Treadway, Jack M. (2005). Elections in Pennsylvania: A Century of Partisan Conflict in the Keystone State. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 212. ISBN 0-271-02703-7. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
^ George Gekas' obituary
^ Ershadi, Julie, May 6, 2013, "George Gekas: Life After Congress", Roll Call.

External links

Media related to George Gekas at Wikimedia Commons

United States Congress. "George Gekas (id: G000121)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Appearances on C-SPAN
George Gekas on the issues
The Political Graveyard

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by ???	Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the Dauphin County district 1967–1968	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 103rd district 1969–1974	Succeeded by Stephen R. Reed
Pennsylvania State Senate
Preceded by William Lentz	Member of the Pennsylvania Senate from the 15th district 1977–1982	Succeeded by John Shumaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Allen E. Ertel	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district 1983–2003	Succeeded by Tim Holden