Jeffrey E. Piccola (born May 16, 1948) 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 ...

who served as a Republican 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 ...

for the 15th District from 1995 to 2012 including as Republican Whip from 2001 to 2006. He also served as 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 ...

for the 104th District from 1977 to 1995.

Early life and education

Piccola was born in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

to Anthony J. and Betty Jane Piccola. He graduated from the Susquehanna Township High School in 1966. He received a B.A. degree from

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

in 1970 and a J.D. degree from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

in 1973. From 1973 to 1974, he served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and became a first lieutenant. He has worked as an attorney at the Harrisburg law firm of Boswell, Tintner & Piccola since 1973.

Career

Piccola served as a member of the

for the 104th district from 1977 to 1995. He served as a member of the

for the 15th district from 1995 to 2012. He was made Majority Caucus Administrator of the State Senate in 1999. In 2001, he was elected Senate

Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

. He was considered a " ader of the impatient hard right wing of the Pennsylvania Republican Senate." 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," saying that he was known for being " ticulate and quick on his feet." In a 2002

feature story A feature story is a piece of non-fiction writing about news covering a single topic in detail. A feature story is a type of soft news, primarily focused on entertainment rather than a higher level of professionalism. The main subtypes are ...

designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Most Likely to Succeed." In 2005, Piccola announced that he would

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

for

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 ...

, seeking the Republican nomination against incumbent Democratic governor

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 ...

. Piccola dropped out of the race for governor in early 2006, after it became clear that former professional football player

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...

had earned the support of most of the

Pennsylvania Republican Party The Pennsylvania Republican Party (PAGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the state of Pennsylvania, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Its chairman is state senator Greg Rothman. ...

. Following the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

elections, Piccola gave up his position as Senate Whip, and instead made a bid to become president pro tempore of the State Senate, after the sitting president pro tempore, Bob Jubelirer, lost the Republican primary in his home district. State Senate Republicans ultimately chose Senator Joe Scarnati for the president pro tempore position instead of Piccola. Piccola was replaced as Republican Whip by Jane Orie.Tom Barne
"Sen. Orie wins leadership post"
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 21, 2006. Piccola considered running for a spot on the

State Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...

in 2007 but withdrew after he was unable to secure support for the state committee endorsement. In 2009, the ''Pennsylvania Report'' noted that Piccola had been "left for dead" after the 2006 leadership election, but was able to return to a leadership role as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. In 2012, he received a public reprimand from the Disciplinary Board of the

due to his conduct as a private attorney. He was reprimanded for violations to the code of conduct for lawyers by representing a Utah-based "heir-hunting" firm while also representing three clients involved in estate settlements. The public reprimand was the result of an agreement that allowed Piccola to keep his lawyer license and the dismissal of more serious charges of fraud, dishonesty and champery. Piccola did not seek re-election in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, and was succeeded by Democrat Rob Teplitz. Piccola became the chairman of the York County Republican Committee until 2022 when two career politicians, Stan Saylor, a Pennsylvanian House Representative for 29 years, and Keith J. Gillespie, another Representative for 19 years, were defeated by anti-establishment candidates, Wendy Fink and Joe D'Orsie, respectively, in their primary. During the contentious primary, Piccola motioned to censure Mike Jones after he endorsed both Fink and D'Orsie. The motion to censure would be defeated. Following the defeats of Saylor and Gillespie, Piccola resigned as chairman.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piccola, Jeffrey 1948 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly American people of Italian descent George Washington University Law School alumni Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Gettysburg College alumni Pennsylvania lawyers Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania United States Air Force officers