State Senator Don White has announced his resignation from the Senate.
In an address this afternoon on the floor of the Senate, the five-term lawmaker said that he is leaving because of health and other considerations. His last day in office will be February 28th.
White said that even though he had no political experience when he was first elected in November of 2000, he had one goal in mind.
–Don White, PA Senator (R) 41st District
White also said that some thought he would only last one term in office.
White was first elected in November of 2000, winning the seat against Jim McQuown following the resignation of Senator Pat Stapleton. White’s election returned the 41st District to the Republican Party after Stapleton had held it for seven terms as the first Democrat to ever win the seat.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance and a member of five other committees, he is also on the Board of Directors of PENNVEST, the independent authority which oversees funding for water, sewer, and storm waste projects in Pennsylvania. He has been the driving force bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the district for water and sewerage projects, was instrumental in the creation of the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex at IUP, extensive renovations at the Jimmy Stewart Airport, the Indiana Borough Revitalization, and most recently, the Windy Ridge industrial site, which resulted in the coming of URBN to Indiana County.
White leaves the Senate having championed the elimination of school property taxes through Senate Bill 76, and earlier this month he proposed legislation that will extend child abuse protections for the unborn children of women who knowingly and willingly use illegal drugs.
White’s current term expires after the election of 2020. Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman is charged with the authority to set a special election for an interim senator to serve the remainder of the term. The likely scenario is that it would occur during the spring Primary this May.
