Month: September 2023

The Honorable Matt Bradford

PA House Majority Leader

Matt Bradford proudly represents the citizens of central Montgomery County, while serving in Democratic leadership as the House Majority Leader. Previously, he served in leadership as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee from 2018-2023, ensuring taxpayer dollars were invested and used responsibly in the state budget to provide the best quality of life for all Pennsylvanians.

Prior to being elected by his peers as Appropriations Chair, Matt served for two years as Chair of the House State Government Committee and spent eight years as a member of the Appropriations Committee, where he became known for pushing back against harsh cuts to public education funding, advocating for good, family-sustaining jobs and quality healthcare. As a father of four, Matt has seen firsthand the vitally important role a school plays in shaping children’s lives and has dedicated his work as an elected official to ensuring all kids have access to high-quality public schools.

A lifelong resident of southeastern Pennsylvania, Matt earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from Villanova University. During his time at Villanova, Matt volunteered as a local CYO basketball coach and president of the College Democrats.

As a law student, Matt developed a keen interest in advocating for the rights and needs of workers. He participated in the Union Summer program and, in 2003, earned a competitive Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship that allowed him to work with AFSCME on important labor law and policy issues. Matt went on to work with the United Steelworkers’ Office of General Counsel, where he continued to advocate for the safe, fair treatment of workers.

In 2006, Governor Ed Rendell appointed Matt to serve as municipal administrator and chief executive officer of Norristown Borough. Matt, who at the time was working as a litigator at a Philadelphia law firm, left his job and committed himself to serving the community. In less than three years, Matt led the municipality away from bankruptcy, securing public and private investments and overseeing major improvements to public services.

In 2009, Matt fused his passion for politics with his commitment to working families when he was elected to represent the citizens of the 70th Legislative District. He remains deeply committed to the community’s long-term success.

In addition to serving in the General Assembly, Matt is of counsel at a municipal law firm and continues to assist local public officials in confronting the pressing policy issues that impact hardworking Pennsylvanians.

Matt is an avid Philadelphia sports fan. He lives in Worcester Township with his wife, Renee, and their four children.

Representative Bryan Cutler

Pennsylvania House Republican Leader

Serving his eighth term in Pennsylvania General Assembly, Bryan Cutler represents the 100th Legislative District in Lancaster County. In June 2020, he was elected by his colleagues to serve as the 139st Speaker of the House, having previously serving as the Majority Leader. He was re-elected Speaker on January 5, 2021.

Bryan’s emergence as one of Pennsylvania’s key leaders reflects his approach to life: Give back to the community that helped you. A lifelong resident of the Peach Bottom area, Bryan faced adversity as a high school student when both his parents were diagnosed with ALS (which eventually took both their lives) and he took on the responsibility of caring for them and his younger sister. The community helped out and embraced Bryan and his family, helping meet their every need.

At a time when most young adults headed off to college, Bryan worked and put himself through a trade school to become an X-ray technologist. Soon after, he married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer, and graduated summa cum laude, from Lebanon Valley College with a health care management degree. Following several years of working at the local hospital overseeing the budgets and daily operations of several sections in the radiology department, he pursued a law degree, focused on health care law, from Widener Law School and become a member of the Lancaster Bar Association and began practicing law with the firm of Nikolaus & Hohenadel.

The desire to give back to the community – which did so much for him and his family – drove Bryan to run for public office. He was elected in 2006.

Bryan’s extensive background in hospitals has also translated into writing laws to make the Commonwealth’s hospitals work more efficiently. His bill to eliminate redundant hospital accreditation procedures for hospitals that already meet all state licensing requirements, was signed into law as Act 60 of 2013. The law has allowed Pennsylvania hospitals to spend more of their time and money serving their patients.

Bryan has also lead efforts to ensure only the people eligible for human service assistance receive the help they need, helped reform the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), promoted greater integrity and transparency in state government strengthening lobbyist disclosure law, and most recently leading efforts to establish a state based health insurance exchange and reforming Pennsylvania’s election laws.

Bryan’s legislative achievements have all received strong bipartisan support and are a sign of his willingness to work together for the best interest of Pennsylvanians.

Bryan and his wife, Jennifer, have three children, Cheyanne, Caleb and Drew. The family lives on an 11-acre “hobby farm” in the same log cabin home where Bryan grew up. The Cutlers are active members of the Wrightsdale Baptist Church.