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Ivan Itkin

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American politician (1936–2020)
Ivan Itkin
Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
In office
January 5, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byBill DeWeese
Succeeded byBill DeWeese
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 23rd district
In office
January 2, 1973 – January 5, 1999
Preceded byGerald Kaufman
Succeeded byDan Frankel
Personal details
Born(1936-03-29)March 29, 1936
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 5, 2020(2020-04-05) (aged 84)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJoyce Hudak
EducationNew York University (BS, MS)
University of Pittsburgh (PhD)

Ivan Itkin (March 29, 1936 – April 5, 2020) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1973 to 1998. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1998.

Early life

Itkin was born in New York City on March 9, 1936. In 1956, he graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. Itkin went on to receive a master's degree from New York University in Nuclear Engineering in 1957. After a stint working as a reactor physicist at Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory Itkin received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964. He worked as a nuclear scientist and applied mathematician until 1972, when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' 23rd District, which includes portions of Allegheny County.

Political career

State House of Representatives

Itkin held a variety of leadership positions with the House's Democratic caucus. He served as majority whip from 1990 though 1992. He was elected majority leader in 1992, and minority whip in 1994. He was also appointed Speaker Pro Tempore during the 1987-1988 session.

Candidate for governor

Main article: 1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

Itkin ran against Republican incumbent Tom Ridge. He and his running mate, former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, lost the election with 31% of the vote.

1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Ridge
Running mate: Mark Schweiker 		1,736,844 57.42
Democratic Ivan Itkin
Running mate: Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky 		938,745 31.03
Constitution Peg Luksik
Running mate :Jim Clymer 		315,761 10.04
Libertarian Ken Krawchuk
Running mate: Henry Haller III 		33,591 1.11

Later career

Itkin retired from the House following his gubernatorial defeat and was subsequently appointed director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management in the Department of Energy by President Bill Clinton in 1999.

He died of heart failure on April 5, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at age 84.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2015-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2015-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "PA State Archives - MG-469 - Scope and Content Note - Ivan Itkin Papers". Phmc.state.pa.us. 1936-03-29. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
  4. ^ "1998 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Pennsylvania". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
  5. "Obituary: Ivan Itkin, former state representative admired for his intellect throughout 13 terms". Post-gazette.com. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-04-30.

External links

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded byBill DeWeese Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
1993–1995 		Succeeded byBill DeWeese
Party political offices
Preceded byMark Singel Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania
1998 		Succeeded byEd Rendell
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