Allen Kukovich ( ) is a former member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

, where he represented the 39th senatorial district from 1996 through 2004. He was also a 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 ...

from 1977 through 1996. He served as the Pennsylvania Democratic State Chairman from June 2002 through March 2003.

Personal life

Allen Kukovich was born on September 5, 1947, in

Manor, Pennsylvania Manor is a borough that is located in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,585 at the time of the 2020 census. History Manor metamorphosed from the original railroad stop, Manor Station, into the borough it is t ...

, a small town in Westmoreland County. He attended Penn Township High School before heading to

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

in Ohio, where he graduated in 1969. In 1973, he received his J.D. from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and worked for several years in private law practice in

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,976 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southeast of Pittsburgh, Greensburg is a part of the Greater Pittsbu ...

Political career

After the unexpected death of state Representative John Laudadio in 1977, Kukovich won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on November 8, 1977, to complete the remainder of the deceased member's

term of office A term of office, electoral term, or parliamentary term is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subjec ...

. While in the House, Kukovich served as Majority Policy Chairman and also chaired several other key committees. A reformer known for his efforts to reduce the size of the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

and promote

open government Open government is the governing doctrine which maintains that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state a ...

and

accountability In ethics and governance, accountability is equated with answerability, culpability, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public secto ...

, he was instrumental in enacting the

Children's Health Insurance Program The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – formerly known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to ...

in Pennsylvania, which later served as a model for the federal CHIP program, and which has provided hundreds of thousands of children in Pennsylvania with free or low-cost health insurance each year. Politically, he was "liberal leaning." In 1996, he defeated incumbent Democratic state Senator Eugene Porterfield who represented Pennsylvania's 39th Senatorial District. Kukovich the primary won with a 10% margin and won the general election. In 2000, Porterfield re-registered as a Republican and unsuccessfully challenged Kukovich for his seat. In the Senate, Kukovich served as Democratic Chair of the Aging and Youth Committee, where he played a pivotal role in the passing of the expanded PACE legislation. Kukovich ran for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor in 2002. In a crowded field, Kukovich came in

third place In sociology, the third place refers to the social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place"). Examples of third places include Church (building), churches, C ...

, behind fellow

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Jack Wagner and the eventual winner, Catherine Baker Knoll In 2002, the political website

PoliticsPA PoliticsPA.com is a website centered on the politics of Pennsylvania. Content The website reports on political and campaign news in Pennsylvania, from the state legislature up to federal races. The editors write occasional features, like the ...

named him to the list of "Smartest Legislators," suggesting that he was "the policy wonk of all legislators." Following the primary,

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2 ...

, the Democratic nominee for governor, asked Kukovich to serve as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. Kukovich held that post through the successful gubernatorial campaign of Rendell/Knoll. In November, 2004, Kukovich lost his senate seat to Republican Bob Regola. Shortly after he left office, Kukovich was tapped to serve as Director of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Rendell's Southwestern Pennsylvania office. Kukovich help found the Pennsylvania chapter of

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon ...

in the early 1970s and is currently an executive board member of the national organization,

Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting p ...

(ADA).

References

External links

* Allen G. Kukovich papers, University of Pittsburgh {{DEFAULTSORT:Kukovich, Allen G. 1947 births Duquesne University alumni Kent State University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairs Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly