{"id":9738,"date":"2014-01-06T14:00:07","date_gmt":"2014-01-06T19:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=9738"},"modified":"2014-01-06T16:52:21","modified_gmt":"2014-01-06T21:52:21","slug":"gerlach-wont-run-in-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=9738","title":{"rendered":"Gerlach won’t run in 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven-term Congressman cites family needs<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Mike McGann<\/strong>, Editor, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gerlach\"<\/a>

U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach.<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-6) announced Monday that he would not seek a seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

The move comes as a bit of a surprise \u2014 just two years after redistricting made the Sixth a more Republican-friendly district and will suddenly open the field to a number of local Republicans and Democrats.<\/p>\n

Gerlach \u2014 who sources said has no intention of running for governor in 2014 \u2014 said that his decision came down to family.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearing the end of my sixth term in the House and following 12 years of public service in the Pennsylvania House and Senate, it is simply time for me to move on to new challenges and to spend more time with my wife and family,\u201d Gerlach said in a statement. \u201cThis is a tremendously difficult decision because I have had the opportunity to work with a multitude of dedicated public servants throughout the years. Together, we have worked to strengthen our communities and create opportunities for the hard-working families we have been privileged to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although it is likely a number of candidates will emerge in the coming weeks, a top contender for the seat is Chester County Commissioner Ryan Costello, who had been rumored to be planning a race for the 19th District State Senate seat currently held by Andrew Dinniman. Others already rumored: former State Rep. Sam Rohrer and state Sen. John Rafferty. Another rumored candidate is current Chester County Republican Committee chair and former county Controller Val DiGiorgio.<\/p>\n

As news spread, reaction began to come in from around the county, most expressing praise and appreciation for his work in elective office.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim Gerlach is a smart and valued member of our delegation,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts (R-16).\u00a0 “Jim and I are both from Chester County and we\u2019ve had many opportunities to work together over the years. We are very sorry to lose him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he won’t run again, Gerlach said that he and his staff would continue to provide the constituent services they have provided since he first won election in 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we have worked to strengthen our communities and create opportunities for the hard-working families we have been privileged to represent. While I will not be seeking re-election, I fully intend to continue working with my legislative staff to deliver the highest-quality constituent service the residents of this District deserve through the remainder of my term,\u201d Gerlach said.<\/p>\n

Gerlach thanked those who stuck with him through a number of very close election races \u2014 from 2002 through 2010, virtually every election was a closely-fought battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to acknowledge and express my deep gratitude to all of the outstanding legislative and campaign staff, volunteers, and financial supporters who have been with me during the toughest races in the nation, and the toughest votes in the legislative halls in which I have served,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout their tireless work and unwavering support, my service to southeastern Pennsylvania would not have been possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerlach, 58, lives in Chester Springs, and he first won election to the state House of Representatives by winning a razor-thin race over State Rep. Sam Morris in 1990. In 1994, he won election to the state Senate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seven-term Congressman cites family needs By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-6) announced Monday that he would not seek a seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives. The move comes as a bit of a surprise \u2014 just two years after redistricting made the Sixth a more Republican-friendly district and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[20,1078,3091,987,264],"class_list":["post-9738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-chester-county","tag-congress","tag-election-2014","tag-jim-gerlach","tag-ryan-costello"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9738"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9744,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9738\/revisions\/9744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}