Robert Jubelirer
Encyclopedia
Robert C. Jubelirer is a Republican Pennsylvania political leader. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate
from 1975 to 2006, and simultaneously served as the President pro tempore
of the Pennsylvania State Senate
and Lieutenant Governor
of Pennsylvania between 2001 and 2003.
Jubelirer was defeated for re-election in the 2006 Republican party primary election
and left office on November 30, 2006.
He is married to Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer.
, Jubelirer attended Pennsylvania State University
and the Dickinson School of Law
. He also attended Pine Forest Camp. He was admitted to the bar
in Blair County, Pennsylvania
and practiced law for several years before entering politics.
He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1974 to represent the Altoona area. He was elected Majority Leader
in 1981. Jubelirer served as President Pro Tempore of the State Senate from 1985 to 1992. After serving briefly as Minority Leader
from 1993 to 1994, he again became President Pro Tempore.
In a 2002 PoliticsPA
Feature story
designating politicians with yearbook superlatives
, he was named the "Hardest Working."
resigned on October 5, 2001 to become President Bush's
Homeland Security Advisor, Lt. Governor Mark Schweiker became Pennsylvania's 44th Governor.
By provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1968, Jubelirer as President Pro Tempore was automatically elevated to Lt. Governor and sworn in the same day.
Jubelirer's elevation to the office was not without controversy. Jubelirer retained his position in the Pennsylvania State Senate. Critics and political foes argued that this violated the separation of powers
principle and threatened the checks and balances guaranteed in the state constitution. A lawsuit was filed by State Rep. John Lawless
, Joseph Wiedemer and Leechburg Area School Board member Charles A. Pascal, Jr.
to block Jubelirer's simultaneous service in the Senate and the executive branch, but the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court
rejected the argument and issued a per curiam decision
allowing Jubelirer to hold both offices simultaneously. Jubelirer continued in both offices until January 21, 2003 when Schweiker's term expired. He declined to accept the Lt. Governor's salary during his term.
As Lt. Governor, Jubelirer served as President of the Senate, Chairman of the Board of Pardons, and Chairman of the Emergency Management Agency. In addition, he served as acting governor when Schweiker left the state.
After his term as Lt. Governor expired, Jubelirer cosponsored a bipartisan bill
in the state senate that would amend the state constitution and allow the Governor to choose a candidate to fill a mid-term vacancy in the Lt. Governor's office upon approval of the senate. The bill was not passed.
Commissioner John Eichelberger
. He, along with Chip Brightbill, the Senate majority leader, were the first top-ranking Pennsylvania
legislative leaders to lose a primary election since 1964.
The defeat was attributed primarily to his role in drafting a legislative pay raise bill
in July 2005.
Initially, Jubelirer defended the raise. However, after internal polling showed his support falling, he opened discussion of a repeal of the unvouchered expense provision. However, newspapers reported that he http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/specialreports/capitalcash/s_396332.html tried to block efforts to repeal the entire raise.
In the wake of the controversy, the Senator issued a statement in which he called the pay raise a "mistake". "I apologized for it in my district. I now think it was the wrong thing to do. Hindsight is 20-20. I'm not shifting the blame to anybody. I accept the responsibility." He also pledged to return the money he had received from the unvouchered expense account.
During the campaign, Jubelirer's more conservative challengers attacked him on abortion. Despite statements during the 2006 campaign that he was pro-life
, Jubelirer's opposition to the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act
and a "pro-choice" rating by both the National Abortion Rights Action League and Planned Parenthood were used by opponents to counter his arguments. Jubelirer himself told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
that he was "a pro-choice Republican" and that he did not support the Republican platform on abortion.
Jubelirer will receive an annual pension of $90,934.
Pennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It 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 every two years such...
from 1975 to 2006, and simultaneously served as the President pro tempore
President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate
The President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate is a constitutionally-created office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
of the Pennsylvania State Senate
Pennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It 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 every two years such...
and Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of Pennsylvania between 2001 and 2003.
Jubelirer was defeated for re-election in the 2006 Republican party primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
and left office on November 30, 2006.
He is married to Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer.
Early life
The son of a prominent county judgeJudge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, Jubelirer attended Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
and the Dickinson School of Law
Dickinson School of Law
Penn State University Dickinson School of Law is the law school of The Pennsylvania State University...
. He also attended Pine Forest Camp. He was admitted to the bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
in Blair County, Pennsylvania
Blair County, Pennsylvania
-Significant Topographic Features:*Brush Mountain*Logan Valley*Morrison Cove*Tussey Mountain-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 129,144 people, 51,518 households, and 34,877 families residing in the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile . There were 55,061...
and practiced law for several years before entering politics.
He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1974 to represent the Altoona area. He was elected Majority Leader
Majority leader
In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...
in 1981. Jubelirer served as President Pro Tempore of the State Senate from 1985 to 1992. After serving briefly as Minority Leader
Minority leader
In U.S. politics, the minority leader is the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body. Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat, with their counterpart being of the opposite party. The position...
from 1993 to 1994, he again became President Pro Tempore.
In a 2002 PoliticsPA
PoliticsPA
- Content :The website focuses on news aggregation, linking to major political news making headlines across the state. The editors write occasional features, like the weekly "Up & Down" scorecard and one-off lists like "Harrisburg's Smartest Staffer" and "Best Dressed Lobbyist" lists...
Feature story
Feature story
- Published Features & news :While the distinction between published features and news is often clear, when approached conceptually there are few hard boundaries between the two. It is quite possible to write a feature in the style of a news story, for instance...
designating politicians with yearbook superlatives
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
, he was named the "Hardest Working."
Lieutenant governor
When Pennsylvania Governor Tom RidgeTom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
resigned on October 5, 2001 to become President Bush's
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Homeland Security Advisor, Lt. Governor Mark Schweiker became Pennsylvania's 44th Governor.
By provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1968, Jubelirer as President Pro Tempore was automatically elevated to Lt. Governor and sworn in the same day.
Jubelirer's elevation to the office was not without controversy. Jubelirer retained his position in the Pennsylvania State Senate. Critics and political foes argued that this violated the separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
principle and threatened the checks and balances guaranteed in the state constitution. A lawsuit was filed by State Rep. John Lawless
John A. Lawless
John A. Lawless is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.-Education and early career:He is a 1975 graduate of Methacton High School. He earned a degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and has attended classes at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science...
, Joseph Wiedemer and Leechburg Area School Board member Charles A. Pascal, Jr.
Charles A. Pascal, Jr.
Charles A. Pascal, Jr., of Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, was born December 24, 1963. An attorney, Pascal graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree.-School Board...
to block Jubelirer's simultaneous service in the Senate and the executive branch, but the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It meets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.-History:...
rejected the argument and issued a per curiam decision
Per curiam decision
In law, a per curiam decision is a ruling issued by an appellate court of multiple judges in which the decision rendered is made by the court acting collectively and anonymously...
allowing Jubelirer to hold both offices simultaneously. Jubelirer continued in both offices until January 21, 2003 when Schweiker's term expired. He declined to accept the Lt. Governor's salary during his term.
As Lt. Governor, Jubelirer served as President of the Senate, Chairman of the Board of Pardons, and Chairman of the Emergency Management Agency. In addition, he served as acting governor when Schweiker left the state.
After his term as Lt. Governor expired, Jubelirer cosponsored a bipartisan bill
in the state senate that would amend the state constitution and allow the Governor to choose a candidate to fill a mid-term vacancy in the Lt. Governor's office upon approval of the senate. The bill was not passed.
2006 Primary Defeat
In May 2006, Jubelirer was defeated in the Republican primary by Blair CountyBlair County, Pennsylvania
-Significant Topographic Features:*Brush Mountain*Logan Valley*Morrison Cove*Tussey Mountain-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 129,144 people, 51,518 households, and 34,877 families residing in the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile . There were 55,061...
Commissioner John Eichelberger
John Eichelberger
John Eichelberger of Blair Township, Pennsylvania is a Pennsylvania State Senator. He is a member of the Republican Party. He represents the 30th district of the Pennsylvania State Senate....
. He, along with Chip Brightbill, the Senate majority leader, were the first top-ranking Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
legislative leaders to lose a primary election since 1964.
The defeat was attributed primarily to his role in drafting a legislative pay raise bill
2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly pay raise controversy
In the early morning hours of July 7, 2005, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed pay increases for state lawmakers, judges, and top executive-branch officials. The vote took place at 2 a.m. without public review or commentary and Governor Ed Rendell signed the bill into law...
in July 2005.
Initially, Jubelirer defended the raise. However, after internal polling showed his support falling, he opened discussion of a repeal of the unvouchered expense provision. However, newspapers reported that he http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/specialreports/capitalcash/s_396332.html tried to block efforts to repeal the entire raise.
In the wake of the controversy, the Senator issued a statement in which he called the pay raise a "mistake". "I apologized for it in my district. I now think it was the wrong thing to do. Hindsight is 20-20. I'm not shifting the blame to anybody. I accept the responsibility." He also pledged to return the money he had received from the unvouchered expense account.
During the campaign, Jubelirer's more conservative challengers attacked him on abortion. Despite statements during the 2006 campaign that he was pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
, Jubelirer's opposition to the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the constitutionality of several Pennsylvania state regulations regarding abortion were challenged...
and a "pro-choice" rating by both the National Abortion Rights Action League and Planned Parenthood were used by opponents to counter his arguments. Jubelirer himself told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is an international news agency serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world. The JTA was founded on February 6, 1917, by Jacob Landau as the Jewish Correspondence Bureau in The Hague with the mandate of collecting and disseminating news among and...
that he was "a pro-choice Republican" and that he did not support the Republican platform on abortion.
Jubelirer will receive an annual pension of $90,934.