Jacqueline R. Crahalla is a former Republican 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 ...

, serving from 2003 to 2006.

Biography

She is a 1958 graduate of

Collingswood High School Collingswood High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Collingswood in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of Collingswoo ...

Collingswood, New Jersey Collingswood is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located east of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough ...

. She worked in

Merck Sharp & Dohme Merck & Co., Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey. The company does business as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical com ...

and other corporations before retiring to "stay home and raise a family". During that time, she worked part-time as a columnist for a local newspaper. After 10 years, she returned to Merck and earned her degree in English and communications as a

non-traditional student Nontraditional student is a term that refers to a category of students at Higher education, colleges and universities. The term originated in North America and usually involves age and social characteristics. Nontraditional students are contrasted ...

Gwynedd Mercy College Gwynedd Mercy University (GMercyU) is a private Catholic university in Lower Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It occupies a campus in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Gwynedd Mercy University was founded in 1948, as Gwynedd-Mer ...

in 1993. She transferred to a new company, Astra Merck, which was a joint venture of between Merck and

Astra Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

, where Crahalla worked to create the Corporate Contributions department. After several corporate mergers, she chose to retire rather than relocate to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. She served as township supervisor in

Lower Providence Township, Pennsylvania Lower Providence Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township is located approximately 17 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The population was 25 ...

for five years.

State legislature

In the 2002 election, Crahalla challenged incumbent Republican-turned-

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

John A. Lawless John A. Lawless (born November 30, 1957) is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Education and early career He is a 1975 graduate of Methacton High School. He earned a degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvani ...

in the newly re-drawn 150th legislative district. The new configuration was intentionally drawn to handicap Lawless as punishment from Lawless' former caucus. In September 2002, Lawless profanely berated a Lower Providence Township police officer, the That November, Crahalla defeated Lawless by razor thin 168 vote margin. Following the loss, Lawless destroyed many constituent-related documents, rather than surrender them to Crahalla. In 2005, James T. Stewart, Crahalla's former chief of staff who was fired and indicted in

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

for stealing $15,000 in campaign money, filed an ethics complaint against his former boss, telling the state State Ethics Commission and Judicial Conduct Board that he was "routinely required to perform political and campaign-related work" in Crahalla's district office. The complaint also alleged that Crahalla's husband, a magistrate judge violated judicial conduct rules by handling her campaign donations.

Retirement

In January 2006, Crahalla announced her retirement, effective following the 2006 election, stating that her decision was to "spend more time with family" and that it had nothing to do with Stewart's accusations.

References

External links

Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Jacqueline Crahalla
official PA House profile (archived)
Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus - Rep. Jacqueline Crahalla
official website (archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Crahalla, Jacqueline Living people Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Women state legislators in Pennsylvania Gwynedd Mercy University alumni Collingswood High School alumni People from Collingswood, New Jersey Politicians from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly