Joseph Alan Steighner (September 28, 1950 – August 11, 2020) was a Democratic 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 ...

Career

In 1978, Steighner was elected to represent

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 ...

's 11th District in the

. During his time in office, Steighner served as the Chairman of the House Games and Fisheries Committee, and sat as a member of the House Conservation Committee. Following his retirement from the House on November 30, 1994, he became a

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

for several groups, including Gaming World International Ltd., which sought to begin

riverboat gambling A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...

if the correct laws were passed. Other groups included

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

law firm Balaban and Balaban, the Delta Development Corporation, and the Fraternal Congress. Under the state's Ethics Law, he was permitted to lobby members 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 ...

immediately upon retirement, and permitted to lobby House members after a year.

Personal life

Steighner had two children: a son (Christopher) and a daughter (Bethann). Steighner died on August 11, 2020, at his residence in

Butler County, Pennsylvania Butler County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 193,763. Its county seat is Butler. Butler County was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named in honor of Gen ...

at the age of 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steighner, Joseph Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1950 births 2020 deaths 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly