Edwin B. Erickson III (May 18, 1938 – January 8, 2019) was an American politician. He served multiple terms on the Council of

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylv ...

, including two years as its chairman. He was later elected to the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

, representing the 26th District from 2001 to 2015. The district included most of Delaware County and parts of

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States ** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania. * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire ...

. From 1989 to 1992, Erickson served as a regional administrator of the

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for Region III, which encompassed several states in the

Mid-Atlantic region The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the nation's Northeastern and Southeastern states. Traditional definitions include seven U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virgi ...

Biography

Erickson was born in

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on May 18, 1938. He earned a B.S. in biology and chemistry from

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1856 and had an enrollment of 1,652 students as of fall 2023. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when "Union Sem ...

in 1960, and taught general biology, anatomy and physiology, cell physiology and zoology at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

and East Stroudsburg State College from 1962 to 1969. In 1969, he earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in biochemistry and microbiology from

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. From 1969 to 1973, he was tenured assistant professor of Biology at

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

, where he taught microbiology, biochemistry and general biology. He was member of the

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, in which capacity he served as an advisor to the

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on scientific and technological matters. Erickson served as director of Public Health and later the chief administrative officer (1976–82) of Upper Darby Township. He was elected to the Delaware County Council in 1982, and served as council chairman from 1987 to 1989. While serving on the council, he was known for being active in guiding the policy behind the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority, which served most of Delaware County.

Pennsylvania Senate

On March 20, 2001, Erickson won a special election with 60% of the vote to the

to fill the unexpired term of F. Joseph Loeper, who resigned after pleading guilty to falsifying tax documents. Erickson was seated on April 23, 2001. He represented the 26th District from 2001 to 2015, which included most of Delaware County and parts of

. He was a member of the following caucuses: Arthritis Caucus, Autism Caucus, Biotechnology/Life Science Caucus, Delaware River Basin Caucus, Delaware River Port Caucus, Firefighter and Emergency Services Caucus, and Pro-Life Caucus. In addition, Senator Erickson served on the Local Government Commission, Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, and Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency Board of Directors. He also served as the Majority Policy Chair from 2010 to 2014. Erickson was a key part of the enactment of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2006, and also led efforts to pass the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act. In 2013, Erickson announced that he would not run for reelection again. He spent his last term in office sponsoring, among other bills, a plan to create and expand community-based healthcare clinics within Pennsylvania. Erickson's last term in the Senate ended in January 2015.

Later life

From 1989 to 1992, Erickson served as a regional administrator of the

for Region III (

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 ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and the

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). He was executive director of Delaware County from 1992 to 2001. Erickson died on January 8, 2019, at the age of 80. Delaware County flags were lowered to half-mast in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Edwin 1938 births 2019 deaths People from Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Albright College alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni Drexel University faculty Hamilton College (New York) faculty People of the United States Environmental Protection Agency East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania faculty 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly