Jon D. Fox (April 22, 1947 – February 11, 2018) was an American Republican politician. He served as a member of

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 1985 to 1992 before being elected to the

Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Montgomery County, colloquially referred to as Montco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, making it the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania after Philadel ...

(1992–1995). His final political role was as a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

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 ...

between 1995 and 1999.

Early life

Fox was born in

Abington, Pennsylvania Abington is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, coterminous with the ZIP Code 19001. Places of interest * Jefferson Abington Hospital * Abington Senior High Scho ...

. He graduated from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough and Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a college town, home to the University Park, Pennsylvania, University Park ...

in 1969, and earned a J.D. from the Delaware School of Law (now Widener University Delaware Law School), in

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 ...

, in 1975. He served in the

United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

from 1969 to 1975. He held positions with the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

, and was a guest lecturer for the Presidential Classroom for Young Americans. From 1976 to 1984 he was assistant

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Political career

Fox made his first successful run at political office in 1984, winning a seat in the

from the Abington area after

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 ...

Joe Hoeffel Joseph Merrill Hoeffel III ( ; born September 3, 1950) is an American author and politician. A Democrat, Hoeffel was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, representing Pennsylvania's 13th congressional distr ...

retired. He would serve in the House until the 1991

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

, when he challenged the incumbent GOP commissioners for a seat on the

. Fox and Mario Mele defeated the incumbents and went on to win the general election. However, Fox, who believed that he would be elected chairman, was surprised when Mele nominated himself for the job, with Hoeffel seconding. In 1992, he ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Democrat

Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky Marjorie Margolies ( ; formerly Margolies-Mezvinsky; born June 21, 1942) is a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Fels Institute of Government and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a former journalist and ...

, losing by less than 1,400 votes. However, Fox sought a rematch in 1994 and, with Mezvinsky saddled with a controversial vote for a tax increase, Fox became part of the

Republican Revolution The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are political slogans that refer to the Republican Party's (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House o ...

. Fox was re-elected once, in 1996, defeating Hoeffel by 84 votes out of nearly 250,000 cast. In 1998, three Republicans, Mike McMonagle, Melissa Brown and Jonathan Newman challenged him in the GOP primary. Fox staved off the internal challenge and faced Hoeffel in a rematch for the general election. Fox also faced a backlash after the

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

; the 13th, long a classic " Yankee Republican" district, had become increasingly friendly to Democrats in the 1990s. In November, Fox was unable to overcome these challenges and lost 51.6%–46.6%. After the election, Fox voted for all four articles of impeachment against Clinton. In 2004, State Representative Ellen Bard, who held Fox' old state house seat retired to run for Congress, and Fox was persuaded to run for the seat. Fox faced newcomer

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the attorney general of Pen ...

in a district that had become increasingly favorable to Democrats since his original tenure. The electorate of that district had grown significantly more Democratic in the years since his first campaigns, and he was defeated 54.3%–44.7%.2004 General Election Results, ourcampaigns.com, 11/2/04
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Personal life

Fox lived in Abington with his wife, Judi, with whom he had a son, Will. He was active in the Republican Party as the Area Chairman for Abington Township. He practiced law and also worked as an instructor at

Manor College Manor College is a private Catholic college in Abington, Pennsylvania, United States. It has an enrollment of 599. History Manor College was founded in 1947 by the Byzantine Ukrainian Sisters of Saint Basil the Great. It is located in Jenkint ...

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is approximately north of Center City Philadelphia. History The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler. The borough was settled in abou ...

. Fox died on February 11, 2018, of complications with cancer at age 70.

References

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Jon D. 1947 births 2018 deaths Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Montgomery County commissioners (Pennsylvania) Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania State University alumni Military personnel from Pennsylvania United States Air Force officers United States Air Force reservists Widener University alumni Widener University Delaware Law School alumni People from Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American Jews Candidates in the 2004 United States elections 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly

Early life

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

External links