Jim Cawley

Jim Cawley (2013)

James "Jim" Cawley (born June 22, 1969 ) is an American politician . From 2011 to 2015 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Pennsylvania .

Career

Lieutenant Governor Cawley (far right) and Governor Corbett (center) received a briefing on the situation in the state after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012

After high school, Jim Cawley studied political science at Temple University . He then studied law at the same university. He later embarked on a political career as a member of the Republican Party . He became Chief of Staff to State Senator Tommy Tomlinson . In 2000 he ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania . In his home country he still holds a number of local offices. He has served on the Bucks County County Council since 2005 .

In May 2010, Cawley applied in the Republican primary for the post of lieutenant governor. He was able to prevail against several internal party opponents and was nominated as his party's candidate for the second highest office in the state. On November 2, 2010 , Cawley was elected Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania on the side of Tom Corbett . Although the governor and lieutenant governor are elected in separate primaries, in the actual election they will appear as a duo on the ballot. Cawley then took up his post as Deputy Governor on January 18, 2011, which also made him chairman of the State Senate by virtue of his office.

In early 2012, Cawley led a working group to reform fracking in Pennsylvania. The law was a compromise by supporters and opponents of tighter regulation of the fracking industry. The new regulation obliges companies producing natural gas to pay a fee to the communities concerned that are affected by the effects of fracking. In 2012 alone, cities received around $ 200 million in revenue from this fee. According to the Corbett administration, the revenues are twice as high as would be the case with a separate fracking tax, which is demanded by many Democrats. He accommodated the industry insofar as it was henceforth forbidden to municipalities to impose a ban on drilling in certain districts, including residential areas. Any geographical restrictions have also been lifted with the new law on laying gas pipes . In particular, the aim was to promote the rapid transport of shale gas to other states. The law was then signed by Governor Corbett in February. Most of the regulations that benefited the fracking companies were later declared unconstitutional by the courts and thus overridden.

In February 2014, Cawley served as provisional governor for just over an hour as Corbett underwent an operation and had to be represented.

For the gubernatorial election on November 4, 2014 , he acted again as Governor Corbett's running mate . Within the party, like the governor, he ran for re-election without competition. He played a certain role in the election campaign by accusing the Democrats of misrepresenting the education policies of the Corbett administration. His direct opponent was State Senator Mike Stack , who ran as a runner-up for Democrat Tom Wolf . However, after Corbett and Cawley lost this election, his term of office as lieutenant governor ended on January 20, 2015.

After the Republican election defeat, Cawley said he had no concrete plans for the future. However, he does not want to permanently withdraw from politics. Political observers consider him a potential candidate for a seat in Congress . Most recently, the very clear praise of Governor Corbett for Cawley's administration was well received. In his final days in office, Corbett appointed his deputy to the state university board of directors, which the Pennsylvania State Senate confirmed in February 2015.

Cawley is married and has one son.

Web links

• Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor's web presence
• Jim Cawley to the Pennsylvania Senate
• Project Vote Smart

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The oil and gas law of the land: your guide to Act 13. National Public Radio, February 20, 2012, accessed October 23, 2014 . 
2. ↑ Dale A. Ticke: Senator Yaw's Landowner Protection Bills Approved by the Pennsylvania State Senate. (No longer available online.) Marcullus Shale, April 9, 2014, archived from the original on March 4, 2012 ; accessed on January 24, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ^ The Morning Call: Gov. Corbett recuperating after successful surgery