M. Joseph Rocks (born June 6, 1947) is an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

who served as a

Democratic 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

member of the

Pennsylvania 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, staggered eve ...

for the 4th district from 1983 to 1988 and as a Republican member of the same Senate district from 1988 to 1990. He also served as a Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 199 The 199th Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Cumberland County and includes the following areas: * Carlisle * Dickinson Township * Lower Frankford Township * Lower Mifflin Township * Middlesex Township * Newville ...

from 1979 to 1982.

Early life

Rocks was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Joseph F. and Catherine (Gilchrist) Rocks. He graduated from West Catholic Boys High School in 1965. He received an A.S. degree from

Community College of Philadelphia The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) is a public community college with campuses throughout Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over ...

in 1967. He served in the U.S. Army Security Agency from 1967 to 1971 and studied German at the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Iowa in 1972.

Career

Rocks was elected as a Republican to 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 199th district and served from 1979 to 1982. He changed party affiliation to

in 1982 and was elected to 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, staggered eve ...

for the 4th district and served from 1983 to 1987. He switched party affiliation again to Republican and served in the Senate from 1988 to 1990. He was a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

mayoral candidate in 1995. During his time in the

, Rocks, created the

Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority PICA History The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, or PICA, is the financial oversight board for the City of Philadelphia. It was created through the 1991 legislation, "Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority Ac ...

board to monitor all spending by then mayor

Wilson Goode Woodrow Wilson Goode Sr. (born August 19, 1938) is a former Mayor of Philadelphia and the first African American to hold that office. He served from 1984 to 1992, a period which included the controversial MOVE police action and house bombing ...

and the city council. All money spent by the city government had to be approved by the board. Rocks ran for Philadelphia City Controller in 1989, where he lost to Democrat Jonathan Saidel. Rocks also ran as a Republican for mayor in 1995, losing to incumbent

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...

. Throughout his career in politics, Rocks was known as a fighter and an aggressive campaigner. His campaign against

Allyson Schwartz Allyson Schwartz (née Young; born October 3, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015 and Northeast and ...

in 1990, when he lost his State Senate seat, was particularly bitter, with negative campaigning from both sides. Among the more wild accusations was the assertion from the Schwartz campaign that Rocks had an alcohol problem and engaged in promiscuous behavior. The comments had apparently been prepared as a joke by a staffer, released accidentally, and Schwartz apologized, but the campaign became increasingly acrimonious from that point forward. After leaving politics, Rocks became the CEO of Northwestern Human Services (NHS) from 2000 to 2014. He lives right outside of Philadelphia, where he moved from his home in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia during his term. He has three children, and a few grandchildren. He "enjoys playing golf, going down to his vacation home in Florida, and spending time with his wife."

References

1947 births 20th-century American politicians Community College of Philadelphia alumni Living people Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Philadelphia University of Iowa alumni United States Army soldiers {{Pennsylvania-PASenate-stub