M. Joseph Rocks (born June 6, 1947) 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 Democratic member of 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 ...

for the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

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 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. The college was founded in 1965 and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. It offers over 100 associate ...

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 ...

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. He received a B.A. degree from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

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 Democratic 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, stagger ...

for the

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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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 A ...

board to monitor all spending by then mayor

Wilson Goode Woodrow Wilson Goode Sr. (born August 19, 1938) is an American politician and 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 a ...

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 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, losing to incumbent

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 ...

. 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 an ...

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 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocks, Joe 1947 births 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 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly