Ernest Kline

Ernest P. "Ernie" Kline (June 20, 1929 – May 13, 2009) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and the 25th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1971 to 1979.

Ernest Kline
Kline in 1975
25th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
In office
January 19, 1971 – January 16, 1979
GovernorMilton Shapp
Preceded byRaymond Broderick
Succeeded byWilliam Scranton III
Democratic Leader
of the Pennsylvania Senate
In office
August 1, 1967[1] – November 30, 1970
Preceded byJohn Devlin
Succeeded byThomas Lamb
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 47th district
In office
January 5, 1965 – January 5, 1971[2]
Preceded byJohn Carl Miller
Succeeded byJohn Good, Jr.
ConstituencyParts of Beaver and Washington Counties.
Personal details
BornJune 20, 1929
Allentown, Pennsylvania
DiedMay 13, 2009(2009-05-13) (aged 79)
Hershey Medical Center[3]
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Children7[4]
Residence(s)Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania[4]
Palmyra, Pennsylvania[4]
Alma materDuquesne University

Early life, career

Kline was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and grew up in the Webster neighborhood of Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania.[4] He attended Rostraver High School, where he was the starting quarterback and graduated in 1947.[4] He attended Duquesne University, but was unable to afford completing his degree.[4] He took a career in radio news broadcasting in Charleroi, Connellsville, Kittanning, and at WBVP-AM in Beaver Falls.[4] He entered politics after covering city council; he was elected to the Beaver Falls City Council in 1955.[4] In 1961, he was appointed to be a workers' compensation referee for Beaver, Washington, and Greene Counties.[4]

Politics

He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1964, taking office in 1965.[5] In August 1967, he was elected Democratic Floor Leader, becoming the youngest person to hold that position.[4]

He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania on the Milton Shapp gubernatorial ticket in November 1970. As a Western Pennsylvanian, Kline provided balance to the Democratic ticket, which had Philadelphian Milton Shapp.[3] Kline held that position from 1971 to 1979. He was the first Lieutenant Governor to live in State House, the Lieutenant Governor's official residence.[6]

He served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1972 and 2000.[7] He is credited for taking steps to establish the Governor's Energy Council during the 1973 oil crisis and for leading the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.[8] He ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1978, but lost a highly contested primary to Peter Flaherty, who eventually lost to Dick Thornburgh.[8]

Later life and death

Kline retired from political life after his stint as lieutenant governor and served as a lobbyist.[4] He lived in Palmyra, Pennsylvania until his death in 2009 at the age of 79.[3]

References
  1. https://docs.google.com/viewer?
  2. Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1971-1972" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  3. Hockensmith, Dustin (May 13, 2009). "Former Lt. Gov. Ernest P. Kline dies at 79". Patriot News. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07.
  4. Gurman, Sadie (2009-05-15). "Obituary: Ernest P. Kline / Lieutenant governor under Shapp". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "K"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  6. "Lieutenant governor moving into grand State House". 11 January 2009.
  7. Kestenbaum, Lawrence (March 24, 2009). "Index to Politicians: Kline". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  8. Long, Heather (May 25, 2009). "Remembering Ernie Kline: He leaves a legacy that should be followed". Patriot News. Archived from the original on 2009-06-30.
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