Ryan Anthony Costello (born September 7, 1976) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Pennsylvania. A Republican, Costello is the representative for Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district, elected in the 2014 to the United States House of Representatives. He previously served on the Chester County Board of Commissioners (2011-2015), and as its chair from 2013 to 2015. He announced his retirement in 2018 on MSNBC, stating that he would not seek reelection.
Video Ryan Costello
Early life
Costello was born in 1976 to schoolteacher parents. Costello attended Ursinus College and Villanova University School of Law.
Maps Ryan Costello
Political career
Costello served on the Board of Supervisors for East Vincent Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, for six years, serving as chairman for the last four. He was elected the Chester County recorder of deeds in 2008. He was elected to the Chester County Board of Commissioners in 2011. His fellow commissioners elected him as chairman of the commission in 2013, and reappointed in 2014.
U.S. House elections
2014
When Jim Gerlach, the Republican incumbent in Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, announced that he would not run for reelection in 2014, Costello chose to run for the Republican Party nomination. He faced no primary opposition. He faced Manan Trivedi of the Democratic Party in the general election. Costello defeated Trivedi, 56%-44%.
2016
In 2016, Democrat Mike Parrish challenged Costello. Hacked material from Parrish was leaked during the campaign, but the Costello campaign took the position that they would not use the illicitly obtained materials during the election. Vincent Gelko, a consultant for Costello, said, "When news broke that this material had likely been stolen by a foreign actor, we immediately said, 'We're not going to use it.'"
Costello was re-elected.
Tenure
For his first two terms, Costello represented a district that took in northern Chester County and western Montgomery County, then reached across Berks County to take in much of heavily Republican Lebanon County. However, in February 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which has a Democratic majority, released a new map for the state's congressional districts to replace a map which the court had previously struck down as a Republican partisan gerrymander. The court imposed a new map after the state legislature refused to submit a replacement. Costello was the only incumbent who retained his old district number. However, the 6th was made significantly more compact. It lost most of its heavily Republican western portion, as well as its share of Montgomery County. Instead, it now took in all of Chester County as well as most of the more Democratic portions of Berks County, including Reading.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Of the many Republicans who took a political blow from Pennsylvania's new congressional map, Chester County's Ryan Costello got hit the hardest." Costello saw his district move from having a Republican-leaning constituency to a narrowly Democratic one. The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that "the previous, GOP-drawn map was one factor aiding Republicans as they held a firm grip on every competitive seat in the moderate Philadelphia suburbs." According to the Pottstown Mercy, the Republican-drawn congressional map was "widely viewed as among the nation's most gerrymandered." The New York Times wrote that the new congressional map met "every standard nonpartisan criteria" while ensuring a partisan balance. After the new congressional map was released, Costello said he supported impeaching the justices who imposed the map, calling the court corrupt and undemocratic. Republicans requested that the United States Supreme Court intervene in the redistricting dispute, although Politico reported that the Republican challenge was unlikely to be successful. In March 2018, a panel of federal judges refused to block the new congressional map from going into effect.
In March 2018, Costello filed petitions to get on the 2018 ballot, but later that month, he announced that he was dropping his reelection bid. According to The Hill, he became frustrated with the Trump administration, which contributed to his dropping from the race.
Political positions
In November 2017, Costello voted for the Republican Party's 2017 tax plan that passed the House.
Electoral history
- Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District election, 2014
- Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District election, 2016
Committee assignments
- 115th Congress
- Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
- Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
- 114th Congress
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
- Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Personal life
Ryan Costello lives along with his wife and two children in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He is a Presbyterian.
References
External links
- Congressman Ryan Costello official U.S. House site
- Ryan Costello for Congress
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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