PD News

Reported first at 1:43p.m.

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
Andrew M. Seder on Facebook   |   @TLAndrewSeder on Twitter

HARRISBURG -- Sen. Robert J. Mellow, D-Peckville, the Pennsylvania State Senate’s longest-serving member and its highest-ranking Democrat, announced today that he will not seek re-election.

click image to enlarge

Senate Minority Leader Bob Mellow, D-Peckville, left, and House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, announce an agreement to end the state’s budget impasse in September 2009.

AP PHOTO

Select images available for purchase in the
Times Leader Photo Store

“It has been my profound personal honor to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. It has literally been my life’s work. I am deeply grateful for the trust that my friends and neighbors from northeastern Pennsylvania have shown me by electing and re-electing me to work for them. We have accomplished many great things together,” Mellow said in a statement.

He has served in the Senate since 1971 and his currently the Minority Leader. He has served as Senate President Pro Tempore, the third highest consitutional office in the state.

“The long hours in Harrisburg over the years have cost me precious time with my daughters and now my grandchildren. My choice to put them first is the right thing to do and, as jarring as this decision has been to make, I am confident that now is the right time to do it," he said. "All of those days devoted to my constituents have resulted in many good things for the 22nd District – some I never imagined possible. With those successes in mind, I am shifting my focus. My daughters and grandchildren mean the world to me, and in this next chapter of my life, I need to devote more of my time and energy to them.”

For the complete story, see Wednesday's edition of The Times Leader and www.timesleader.com