Bryan Roy Lentz (born June 5, 1964) is an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He served as a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 161st legislative district from 2007 to 2010. He was the 2010 Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative for . He was an officer in the U.S. Army and served in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and during peacekeeping missions in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

and Bosnia. He worked as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia from 1993 to 1999. He led the Philadelphia Gun Violence Task Force in 2011 and currently serves as chairman of the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission.

Early life, education and career

Lentz was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, to Martin and Bonnie Minehart Lentz. His father worked in 1962 to help desegregate the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. He graduated from Wissahickon High School and from Valley Forge Military Academy and College in 1984. He graduated with a degree in philosophy from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1986 on a full army scholarship. Lentiz is a fourth generation army veteran. After graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army infantry and was assigned to the Second Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

in Fort Bragg, NC. Lentz served overseas in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, where he commanded a Civil Affairs unit assisting with improving the infrastructure and rebuilding civil governance of Mosul, Iraq. Lentz also served with the

Multinational Force and Observers The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The MFO generally operates in and around the Sinai peninsula, ensuring free navigation through ...

in the Sinai Peninsula and with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. He earned the Bronze Star and the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. Lentz earned a J.D. degree from Temple University School of Law in 1993. He has worked as attorney in private practice and for six years as a prosecutor in the

District Attorney's Office.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

In 2006, he planned to run for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in the Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district against Curt Weldon. After discussions with party officials, however, Lentz decided to bow out in favor of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Joe Sestak. Instead, he ran for the State House. He defeated incumbent Tom Gannon with 51.5% of the vote. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Lentz won reelection to the State House, defeating Republican challenger Joe Hackett, and increasing his share of the vote to 55.4%. Lentz was not a candidate for reelection to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2011.

2010 U.S. congressional campaign

Lentz ran against Republican nominee Pat Meehan and American Congress Party nominee Jim Schneller. On November 12, 2009, Lentz announced his candidacy for . He sought to replace Joe Sestak, the two-term Democratic incumbent who ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Lentz ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the Democratic primary on May 18, 2010. Meehan won the general election with 54.9% of the vote, while Lentz received 44.0%; Schneller ended up with 1.1%.

Tea Party controversy

On October 19, 2010, Lentz acknowledged that he had been aware that some supporters were circulating petitions in support of Jim Schneller, a self-described "Tea Party candidate" officially running on the American Congress Party Ticket, an effort which his opponents describe as an attempt to split the conservative vote. Lentz said he did not encourage Schneller to enter the race, and that he does not believe that assisting Schneller circulate his petitions was improper. In 2011, Lentz led the Philadelphia Gun Violence Task Force which received state funding in order to "attack the proliferation of illegal guns on city streets". In 2016, Lentz was nominated to the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission by Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

and currently serves as chairman. Lentz is an attorney at the law firm of Bochetto & Lentz.

References

External links

Bryan Lentz for U.S. Congress
''official Congressional campaign site'' * *
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Lentz, Bryan 1964 births United States Army personnel of the Gulf War American prosecutors Georgetown University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni United States Army officers Valley Forge Military Academy and College alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly