Jim Gerlach

James William Gerlach (born February 25, 1955) is the former U.S. Representative for PA's 6th congressional district, serving from 2003 to 2015.

He is a member of the Republican Party.

Gerlach retired from Congress after completing his sixth term.

Gerlach was born in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania to Helen Lorraine (née Fitzgerald) and Jack Allen Gerlach.

His father was killed by a drunk driver when he was five years old, leaving his mother to raise three children on her own.

He graduated from Dickinson College where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and the Raven's Claw Honorary Society, with a B.A. in Political Science.

He also earned his J.D. degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1980.

During law school, Gerlach worked as a legislative aide in the Pennsylvania State Senate.

In 1985, Gerlach moved back to Ellwood City and worked at the Butler law firm Lindsey & Lutz.

In 1986, he challenged Frank LaGrotta in the race for state representative but lost.

In 1987, he returned to Chester County to work for the Lamb, Windle & McErlane law firm in West Chester, whose senior partner was then-Chester County Republican Chairman William Lamb.

In preparation for the 1990 election against long time Democratic State Rep. Sam Morris, Gerlach visited 10,000 homes in the 155th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, building his campaign around what he saw as the incumbent's inattentiveness to suburban sprawl.

According to a local newspaper, the Daily Local News, Gerlach charged that his opponent was "out of touch" with his constituency.

Gerlach proposed expanding open-space preservation by using zoning laws to encourage developers to incorporate open space into development projects, along with the creation of environmental protection authorities.

During the election, Gerlach's Democratic opponents accused the Western Pennsylvania native of moving to Chester County for the sole purpose of running against Morris.

Gerlach denied that accusation and said he moved to Chester County because he and his wife saw it as "a great place to work and raise our kids."

He ultimately defeated Morris by only 23 votes out of 17,000 cast.

He was reelected in 1992 with 64 percent of the vote.

Gerlach was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1994, with 67 percent of the vote, in the newly re-formed 44th district.

He defeated Democrat Barry Robertson (whose campaign was heavily funded by Sam Morris, Gerlach's opponent four years earlier) in that election, and was re-elected in 1998 without opposition.

While in the State Senate, he helped change the state's welfare laws.

While in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Pennsylvania Senate, Gerlach worked to sponsor legislation making it easier for the commonwealth's patchwork of municipalities to work together to preserve open space.

Gov. Tom Ridge signed Gerlach's legislation into law in 2000.

Gerlach was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2002 from the newly created 6th District, sometimes called the "Pterodactyl District" because of its unusual shape; it twisted and wound its way through the outer western suburbs of Philadelphia.

Although the district was reportedly drawn to elect a Republican, he had a somewhat difficult time holding onto it in elections, largely due to the growing Democratic trend in the Philadelphia suburbs.

In 2003, Gerlach sponsored a new law mandating a new veterans cemetery in the Philadelphia area within four years.

The nearest military cemetery to accept casket burials was located 90 miles from Philadelphia.

On September 27, 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Gerlach-sponsored bill H.R. 5313 that would make federal funds available to municipalities around the country to purchase conservation easements.

This bill was never acted on by the Senate, and was re-introduced as H.R. 1152 in March 2007.

In 2009, Gerlach opposed HR 2454, which was designed to amend several laws related to energy and the environment, and included a "cap-and-trade" program to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

As Gerlach later explained, "While the bill included some positive provisions to develop alternative and renewable energy our country needs, I voted against this bill because of the devastating effect it will have on working families and the people who create jobs in my district and across Pennsylvania."

The League of Conservation Voters, "a national non-profit organization that works to turn environmental values into national priorities," rated Gerlach at 44 percent on their National Environmental Scorecard.

In his 2010 campaign, Gerlach received $41,250 from the Energy/Natural Resource sector.

Gerlach voted against H. Con.

Res. 63, which disapproved of The Surge; he said it was meaningless, fundamentally vague and would damage troop morale.

On January 6, 2014 Gerlach announced that he would not seek reelection, "to spend more time with my wife and family."

Gerlach has strongly supported Schuylkill Valley commuter rail.

At one point he said of the Bush administration's plan to cut federal money for construction costs from 80 percent to 50 percent: "There's just not going to be enough state and local funds to do the project. It will be a dead project."

The farmland-preservation and open-space advocacy that Gerlach became known for during his tenure as a state legislator has continued during his congressional career.

On March 6, 2020, the board of directors from the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance announced that Gerlach had been named president and CEO of the organization.