LeAnna Washington
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = LeAnna M. Washington
| state = Pennsylvania
| state_senate = Pennsylvania
| district = 4th
| term_start = June 14, 2005{{cite web |title=SESSION OF 2005 - 189TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 35 |work=Legislative Journal |publisher=Pennsylvania Senate |date=June 14, 2005 |url=http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/SJ/2005/0/Sj20050614.pdf}}
| term_end = January 6, 2015
| predecessor = Allyson Schwartz
| successor = Arthur L. Haywood III
| constituency =Part of Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties
| state_house2 = Pennsylvania
| district2 = 200th
| term_start2 = November 22, 1993{{cite web |title=SESSION OF 1993 - 177TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - NO. 58 |work=Legislative Journal |publisher=Pennsylvania House of Representatives |date=June 14, 2005 |url=http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1993/0/19931122.pdf}}
| term_end2 = June 14, 2005{{cite web |title=SESSION OF 2005 - 189TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 37 |work=Legislative Journal |publisher=Pennsylvania House of Representatives |date=June 14, 2005 |url=http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/2005/0/20050614.pdf}}
| predecessor2 = Gordon Linton
| successor2 = Cherelle Parker
| constituency2 =Part of Philadelphia County
| party = Democratic
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|7|28|mf=y}}
| birth_place =Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| alma_mater = Lincoln University
| children = 3 children
| occupation =
| residence = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| spouse = Divorced
| website =
}}
LeAnna M. Washington (born July 28, 1945) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 4th district from 2005 to 2014. She served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 200 from 1993 to 2005. She resigned in 2014 after being charged with a felony for using campaign staff and state resources to plan her birthday party fundraiser.
Early life and education
Washington was born in Philadelphia. She graduated from West Philadelphia High School and received a Master of Health Science degree from Lincoln University in 1989.{{cite web |title=Pennsylvania State Senate - LeAnna Washington Biography |url=https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=2615&body=S |website=www.legis.state.pa.us |access-date=February 3, 2019}}
Washington was a high school dropout, teen parent, and victim of domestic violence early in her marriage.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Larry |title=The amazing rise and fall of LeAnna Washington |url=http://www.phillytrib.com/news/the-amazing-rise-and-fall-of-leanna-washington/article_a1c767bc-d8c8-5d26-9689-cdbe9048c72c.html |website=www.phillytrib.com |date=October 26, 2014 |access-date=February 3, 2019}}{{cite web |title=LeANNA M. WASHINGTON |work=Official Pennsylvania Democratic Caucus Biography |publisher=Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus |url=http://www.senatorwashington.com/washington_bio.pdf |quote=She was a high school dropout, teen parent, and victim of domestic violence early in her marriage. Her tenacity, perseverance and faith in God allowed her to transform victimhood to victory.}}
Career
She worked as District Office Manager for former Pennsylvania State Senator Joseph Rocks and as manager of the Philadelphia Parking Authority Employee Assistance Program.{{cite web |title=Biography |work=Official Pennsylvania Democratic Caucus Biography |publisher=Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus |url=http://www.pahouse.com/washington/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030701222501/http://www.pahouse.com/washington/ |archive-date=July 1, 2003}}
She was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 200 in a special election on November 2, 1993, following the resignation of Gordon J. Linton.{{cite web |last=Cox |first=Harold |title=Pennsylvania House of Representatives - 1993-1994 |series=Pennsylvania State Legislature: Members, Districts and Party Affiliations by Session, 1790 - 2004 |work=Wilkes University Election Statistics Project |publisher=Wilkes University |year=2004 |url=http://staffweb.wilkes.edu/harold.cox/legis/177H.pdf}}{{cite web |title=LeAnna M. Washington (Democrat) |work=Official Pennsylvania House of Representatives Profile |publisher=Pennsylvania House of Representatives |url=http://www.house.state.pa.us/members/districts/200/200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000420112931/http://www.house.state.pa.us/members/districts/200/200.htm |archive-date=April 20, 2000}}
She was elected to represent the 4th senatorial district in the Pennsylvania Senate in a special election held on May 17, 2005.{{cite web |title=2005 Special Election for the 4th Senatorial District |work=Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information |publisher=Pennsylvania Department of State |year=2004 |url=http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=15&OfficeID=12 |access-date=July 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081128115047/http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us/ElectionsInformation.aspx?FunctionID=13&ElectionID=15&OfficeID=12 |archive-date=November 28, 2008 |url-status=dead}}
On March 12, 2014, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office announced felony charges of diversion of services and conflict of interest against Washington.{{cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20140313_Sen__Leanna_Washington_charged_with_misuse_of_office.html |title=Sen. LeAnna Washington charged with misuse of office |access-date=March 12, 2013 |date=March 12, 2013 |last1=Couloumbis |first1=Angela |last2=Parks |first2=Jessica |publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer}} The charges included usage of staff members and state equipment to plan her birthday party fundraiser.
In October 2014, Washington agreed to leave office early (she had already lost the primary) in exchange for being permitted to retain her retirement benefits. These benefits include lifetime health insurance and a state pension. She agreed to serve three months house arrest, five years of probation, and restitution of $200,000 to the Senate.{{cite web |title=State Sen. Leanna Washington gets house arrest for corruption plea, will resign Friday |url=https://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/10/state_sen_leanna_washingtonget.html |website=www.pennlive.com |date=October 30, 2014 |access-date=February 3, 2019}}{{cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20141031_Washington_pleads_guilty__avoids_jail_term.html |title=Washington pleads guilty to conflict-of-interest charges |author=Tricia L. Nadolny and Jessica Parks |publisher=Inquirer |date=October 31, 2014}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senate_bio.cfm?id=266 Pennsylvania State Senate - LeAnna M. Washington] official PA Senate website
- [http://www.senatorwashington.com/ Senator Washington] - official party website
{{CongLinks| votesmart =9267}}
- Follow the Money - LeAnna M. Washington
- [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=88631 2006] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=65105 2004] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=13792 2002] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=49318 2000] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=2045 1998] campaign contributions
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Category:20th-century American women politicians
Category:20th-century African-American politicians
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania
Category:African-American women in politics
Category:Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni
Category:Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Category:Pennsylvania politicians convicted of crimes
Category:Pennsylvania state senators
Category:Politicians from Philadelphia
Category:West Philadelphia High School alumni
Category:Women state legislators in Pennsylvania
Category:20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Category:21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly