Madeleine Dean

Early life and education

Dean was born on June 6, 1959, in Glenside, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her parents are Bob and Mary Dean. Madeleine is the youngest of their seven children. She graduated from Abington Senior High School, and then Montgomery County Community College. She was magna cum laude at La Salle University, and earned her Juris Doctor at the Widener University Delaware Law School. She also studied politics and public service at the Fels Institute of Government of the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

After law school, Dean returned to the Philadelphia area and practiced law with the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers, going on to serve as executive director. She then opened a small, three-woman law practice in Glenside, and served as in-house counsel for her husband's growing bicycle business.

While raising three young sons, Dean turned to teaching. She served 10 years as an assistant professor of English at her alma mater, La Salle University, in Philadelphia, where she taught writing and ethics.

Early political career

Dean got her start in politics soon after graduating from high school, when she was elected to an Abington Township committee seat.

She volunteered on her first campaign, for Joe Hoeffel's reelection to the state legislature, in the same district seat she later held. On that campaign she met her future husband, Patrick Cunnane, then a 19-year-old elected committeeman.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Having worked and volunteered in politics for decades, and her children grown, Dean was asked to become a public servant herself, serving as Abington Township commissioner, and ran for state representative in 2012. In the State House, she prioritized social issues such as addiction, equal rights, access to healthcare, ethics, criminal justice reform, and gun violence.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Dean and Dan Frankel co-founded the gun violence prevention caucus, PA SAFE Caucus. The caucus is a self-described coalition of legislators and advocates dedicated to curbing the sale of illegal guns.

In 2015, Dean was appointed to the Governor's Commission for Women, a commission designed to advise the governor on policies and legislation that promote equality issues ranging from sexual assault to business initiatives. In 2017, she was elected chair of the Southeast Delegation of the Pennsylvania House Democrats, composed of 22 House Democrats representing nine counties.

She served on several committees, including Appropriations, Judiciary, Policy, Urban Affairs, State Government, and Finance, of which she was vice-chair.

Dean stated in 2014: "We know that the number one issue with voters is education and how we fund our public schools". Regarding the Pennsylvania education budget for 2013, the then-state Representative said: "How we educate our kids tells us how our economy will be." In that same instance, she highlighted the issue of public school funding.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In February 2018, after a significant change in Pennsylvania's congressional districts mandated by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Dean announced she would end her campaign for lieutenant governor and instead run for Congress in the 4th district. The district had previously been the 13th, represented by two-term fellow Democrat Brendan Boyle. But the 13th's share of Philadelphia, including Boyle's home, was drawn into the 2nd district, and Boyle opted to run for reelection there.

On May 15, Dean defeated two challengers, Shira Goodman and former Congressman Joe Hoeffel, in the Democratic primary. In the general election she defeated Republican money manager Dan David with 63.45% of the vote to his 36.55%. She was one of four Democratic women elected to Congress from Pennsylvania in 2018. The others were Mary Gay Scanlon, Chrissy Houlahan and Susan Wild. The state's delegation had previously been all male.

2020

Dean ran for reelection and defeated the Republican nominee, military veteran and political commentator Kathy Barnette, with 59.5% of the vote to Barnette's 40.5%.

2022

Dean stood for re-election in 2022, but her district was mostly unchanged by redistricting. Dean faced Republican nominee Christian Nascimento, a vice president of product at Comcast and former Methacton School Board president, and won 61.3% of the vote.

Tenure

On January 12, 2021, Dean was named an impeachment manager (prosecutor) for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.

On July 29, 2024, Dean was announced as one of six Democratic members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.

Committee, subcommittee and task force assignments

Source:

• House Appropriations Committee :* Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee :* Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcomittee
• House Committee on Foreign Affairs :*Oversight and Intelligence Subcommittee :*Foreign Arms Sales Task Force – Ranking Member

Caucus memberships

Source:

• Bipartisan Fentanyl Prevention Caucus - Chair
• Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Caucus - Vice Chair
• Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force
• Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
• Bipartisan Women's Caucus
• New Democrat Coalition
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Equality Caucus
• Congressional Ukraine Caucus

Political positions

Dean voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

On February 28, 2024, Dean called for a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza, stating "we must all rally behind an end to the violence and heartbreak

Dean voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

Electoral history

153rd legislative district 153rd legislative district 153rd legislative district 153rd legislative district

Other political campaigns

Lieutenant governor

Main article: 2018 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election#Lieutenant Governor

In November 2017, Dean announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, facing, among others, incumbent Mike Stack in the Democratic primary. She dropped out to run for Congress.

Personal life

Dean lives in Lower Merion Township, with her husband, Patrick "P.J." Cunnane. Cunnane is an entrepreneur in the bicycle industry and managed Advanced Sports International. They have three grown sons and three grandchildren. Her son Pat was senior writer and deputy director of messaging in the Obama administration. Dean is Roman Catholic.

References

References

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2. "Suburban Philly lawmaker drops lieutenant governor bid to run for Congress". Penn Live.
3. "Representative Madeleine Dean's Biography". Project Vote Smart.
4. "Madeleine Dean". Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
5. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/D000631
6. (February 15, 2021). "About Congresswoman Madeleine Dean".
7. (February 15, 2021). "Meet Madeleine".
8. Waller, Allyson. (January 26, 2021). "Here Are the House Managers in Trump's Second Impeachment Trial". The New York Times.
9. (February 9, 2021). "Montco's Bruce Castor and Madeleine Dean bring very different approaches to Trump's impeachment trial". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
10. Freeman, Jarreau. (November 6, 2012). "ELECTION 2012: Madeleine Dean defeats Nick Mattiacci, Ken Krawchuk for the 153rd seat". Times Chronicle.
11. (March 15, 2016). "Lawmakers, gun-safety advocates announce formation of PA SAFE". PA SAFE Caucus.
12. (October 7, 2015). "Wolf Names 26 to the Pennsylvania Commission for Women". Governor Tom Wolf.
13. (January 4, 2017). "House Democrats' Southeast Delegation leadership team elected". Southeast Delegation.
14. (August 2023). "PA lawmakers put education at top of agenda in election year".
15. Micek, John L.. (February 22, 2018). "Suburban Philly lawmaker drops lieutenant governor bid to run for Congress". The Patriot-News.
16. Kopp, John. (February 22, 2018). "Brendan Boyle to seek re-election in redrawn Philly congressional district". Philly Voice.
17. (May 17, 2018). "Pennsylvania Primary Election Results". The New York Times.
18. (November 6, 2016). "2018 General Election: Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State.
19. Shuey, Karen. (February 26, 2020). "Conservative commentator seeks 4th Congressional District seat".
20. "2020 Presidential Election - Representative in Congress".
21. (2022-11-08). "Pennsylvania Fourth Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times.
22. "2022 General Election Official Returns - Representative in Congress".
23. (January 12, 2021). "Pelosi Names Impeachment Managers".
24. (July 29, 2024). "House leaders announce members of bipartisan task force investigating Trump assassination attempt".
25. "Committees and Caucuses".
26. "About the CEC". CEC.
27. "Members". Congressional Ukraine Caucus.
28. Demirjian, Karoun. (2023-10-25). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times.
29. (2023-10-25). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session".
30. Dean, Madeleine. “Congresswoman Madeleine Dean Calls for a Bilateral Ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.” Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, 28 Feb. 2024, dean.house.gov/2024/2/congresswoman-madeleine-dean-calls-for-a-bilateral-ceasefire-in-gaza-and-israel.
31. (2021-04-22). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?".
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33. "Tuesday, November 5, 2024 2024 Presidential Election (Official Returns) Statewide".
34. Navratil, Liz. (November 29, 2017). "State Rep. Madeleine Dean to run for lieutenant governor". Philadelphia Inquirer.
35. Kurtz, Judy. (April 18, 2018). "Former Obama staffer dishes on White House life in 'West Winging It'". [[The Hill (newspaper).
36. "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress".
37. (February 24, 2021). "'Do it now. Ask for help now': Rep. Madeleine Dean and her son reflect on his addiction".