Brian Ellis (American politician)

Brian L. Ellis (born 1969) is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, who represented the 11th House district in Butler County. He served as Chairman of the House Consumer Affairs Committee until 2019.

Brian L. Ellis
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 11th district
In office
January 4, 2005[1] – March 18, 2019
Preceded byGuy Travaglio
Succeeded byMarci Mustello
Personal details
Born1969 (age 51–52)
Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Monica Ellis (Divorced 2019)
ResidenceButler Township
Alma materUniversity of Pittsburgh

Personal

Born in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 1969,[2] Ellis graduated from Butler Senior High School and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in communications. Prior to his election, he worked for his family's automobile dealership in Western Pennsylvania.

Political career

Ellis first won a seat in the House in 2004, finishing first in a three-way GOP primary and going on to defeat Democrat Fred Vero with 55.9% of the vote.[3][4]

In 2006, he defeated a challenger in the GOP primary with 78% of the vote and won the general election over Democrat Bill Neel with over 64% of the vote.[5][6]

Ellis was unopposed in the 2008 primary and was opposed in the general election by Democrat Dave Wilson.[7] He was re-elected in the 2010 general election.

Ellis has served as the Pennsylvania State Leader for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).[8]

Accusations and Resignation

In January 2019, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office opened a criminal investigation into allegations Ellis had raped a female state employee while she was incapacitated, prompting members of the Pennsylvania state house, including the Republican leadership, to call for his resignation.[9][10] The victim later issued a complaint to the PA House Ethics Committee detailing the alleged assault. Ellis, who was married at the time, denied the accusations, but leading Republicans began to call for a full investigation.[11][12] He resigned on March 18, 2019, just six days after the complaint was issued.[13]

In August 2019, Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo declined to charge Ellis, who had been represented in that case by Erik R. Anderson of Post & Schell PC. [14]

References
  1. "SESSION OF 2005 - 189TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 2005-01-04.
  3. "Pennsylvania 2004 Primary Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2008-11-27.
  4. "Pennsylvania 2004 General Election Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2008-11-27.
  5. "Pennsylvania 2006 Primary Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
  6. "Pennsylvania 2004 General Election Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2008-11-27.
  7. "Pennsylvania 2008 Primary Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
  8. "State Chairmen". American Legislative Exchange Council. Archived from the original on 2013-07-05.
  9. Murphy, Jan (2019-01-25). "Pa. state rep. facing sexual assault investigation by Dauphin County DA's office". pennlive.com. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  10. Murphy, Jan (2019-01-25). "House GOP leaders call on Rep. Brian Ellis to resign after sexual assault allegation". pennlive.com. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  11. "Pa. House Republicans Call On Butler Co. Lawmaker To Quit Over Sexual Assault Allegations". pittsburgh.cbslocal.com. January 25, 2019.
  12. Farnoush Amiri (March 19, 2019). "Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Ellis resigns after allegations of sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman". nbcnews.com.
  13. Navratil, Liz (2019-03-18). "State Rep. Brian Ellis, accused of sexual assault, resigns". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  14. "Pa. prosecutor won't charge ex-Rep. Brian Ellis over sex assault claim". triblive.com. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
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