Stephen McCarter (born February 16, 1947) is a retired American educator and politician. He 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 ...

, representing the 154th legislative district from

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 ...

until 2020. The district was located in Montgomery and

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 ...

counties, including

Cheltenham Township Cheltenham Township is a home-rule township located in the southeast corner of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders Philadelphia to the south and east, Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Abington Township ...

Jenkintown 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 about ...

, Springfield Township, and part of Philadelphia's 35th Ward.

Background

Prior to his election as a state representative, McCarter was a high school social studies teacher for 35 years in Abington and Lower Merion. He holds a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in education from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and a Masters of Science degree in education from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He also worked as an adjunct professor of education at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a captain in the

US Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...

. McCarter has served as the Chairman of the

Cheltenham School District The Cheltenham Township School District is a public school district serving Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The district is one of the 500 public school districts of Pennsylvania. The District encompasses approximately ...

Local Tax Study Commission, and he was also a member of the Cheltenham Development Corporation, Cheltenham Historical Commission, and a board member and mideastern region president for the

Pennsylvania State Education Association The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) represents more than 187,000 teachers, educational support professionals, counselors, curriculum specialists, librarians, health care workers, school nurses, school dental hygienists, school nurse ...

. McCarter and his wife Deborah currently reside in Glenside. They have lived in Cheltenham Township for 25 years, including nearby

Elkins Park Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue rough ...

and Jenkintown.

State representative

Following an announcement by incumbent State Representative

Lawrence Curry Lawrence Hummel "Larry" Curry (February 21, 1935 – December 17, 2018) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He represented the 154th District from 1993 until 2012. Biography Curry was born in Camden, New Jersey ...

that he would not be seeking re-election in

, McCarter announced his candidacy for the 154th District's house seat. He ran unopposed in the primary election and went on to defeat Republican Mark Sirinides with 72.62 percent of the vote. McCarter won every precinct in the legislative district. McCarter serves on the Aging & Older Adult Services, Children & Youth, Environmental Resources & Energy, and Policy committees. As a state representative, McCarter has called for increased state funding for infrastructure and education, and supported an extraction tax on natural gas drillers. Following the Supreme Court's

decision Decision may refer to: Law and politics *Judgment (law), as the outcome of a legal case *Landmark decision, the outcome of a case that sets a legal precedent * ''Per curiam'' decision, by a court with multiple judges Books * ''Decision'' (novel) ...

on the

Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limitin ...

, McCarter announced that he and State Representative

Brian Sims Brian Kendall Sims (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician, activist and attorney. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 182nd district from 2013 until 2022. ...

would introduce a bill to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

in Pennsylvania. In December 2019, McCarter announced that he will not seek re-election in 2020.

References

External links

House Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarter, Steve Living people Politicians from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Temple University alumni University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania 1947 births 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly