Christopher Pielli
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Christopher Pielli (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 156. He assumed office on December 1, 2022. His current term ends on November 30, 2024.
Pielli (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 156. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Pielli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Christopher Pielli graduated from East Senior High School in 1984. Pielli served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1995. He earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University in 1988 and a J.D. from Temple University in 2000. Pielli's career experience includes working as a government administrator.[1][2][3]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Pielli was assigned to the following committees:
- Commerce Committee, Subcommittee Chair on Automation and Technology
- Committee On Committees
- House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee
- House Game & Fisheries Committee
- House Judiciary Committee, Secretary
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Elections
2024
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
Incumbent Christopher Pielli defeated Kris R. Vollrath in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Christopher Pielli (D)  | 56.3 | 17,573 |
 | Kris R. Vollrath (R) | 43.7 | 13,617 | |
| Total votes: 31,190 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
Incumbent Christopher Pielli advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on April 23, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Pielli | 99.7 | 6,184 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 21 | ||
| Total votes: 6,205 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
Kris R. Vollrath advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on April 23, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kris R. Vollrath | 98.7 | 4,015 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 54 | ||
| Total votes: 4,069 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
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Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Pielli in this election.
2022
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
Christopher Pielli defeated Heidi Vanderwaal in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Pielli (D) | 59.6 | 18,510 |
 | Heidi Vanderwaal (R) | 40.4 | 12,537 | |
| Total votes: 31,047 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
Christopher Pielli advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Pielli | 100.0 | 7,391 |
| Total votes: 7,391 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156
Heidi Vanderwaal advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Heidi Vanderwaal | 100.0 | 6,215 |
| Total votes: 6,215 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christopher Pielli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pielli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I've built my career around service to our country and community starting with serving in the U.S. Army to my current service as State Representative for HD156. I’m an attorney by trade barred in NY, NJ, and PA but I have been a soldier, a teacher, a Correctional Counselor/Officer, Veteran’s advocate, and more. Most importantly, I am a husband and father. Long ago I pledged to support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and I am resolved to make that pledge again to all of you. As your State Representative I will continue fighting with every fiber of my being to give us a living wage, protect our environment, our voting rights, a woman’s right to choose, our local economy, your children's education, and a citizen’s right to enjoy the equal protection of the law no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion, because Government that doesn’t work for everyone inevitably will not work for anyone.
- I can’t limit it to three. I feel that there are too many policy priorities that have been neglected for too long and must be addressed immediately. Priorities such as Jobs, Infrastructure, the Environment, the Protection of our Voting Rights, Proper Funding for Public Education, Business Development, common sense Gun Safety Laws, Women’s Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, regulation and protection from dangerous uses of Artificial Intelligence, a minimum wage increase, and the Defense of our Republic and our Constitutional Rights are all in dire need of immediate attention. Despite a one seat majority, our Caucus was able to pass over 200 bills that tried to address most of these issues and more. Unfortunately, of those 200+ bills we
- Please See Above.
- Please See Above.
Jobs, Infrastructure, the Environment, Voting Rights, Public Education Funding, Business Development, Gun Safety Laws, Women’s Reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, regulating Artificial Intelligence, a minimum wage increase, and the Defense of our Democratic Republic are all in need of immediate attention. Despite a one seat majority, our Caucus was able to pass over 200 bills that tried to address most of these issues and more. Unfortunately, of those 200+ bills we passed, 165 of them have been blocked by the State Senate leadership. I will continue to press for legislation that addresses these priorities. These are challenging times, and we must fight to ensure the future of our Democracy by promptly taking on all these issues and more.
"It's a Wonderful Life" and the "Darkest Hour" are two films that I recommend and that somewhat reflects my political philosophy.
Honesty, empathy, resilience, and loyalty to the Constitution and the Republic for which it stands. I believe that one of the most important attributes to be a successful Representative is to listen and learn. You don't know it all and you won't be able to effectively help people if you don't listen and learn from them. I also think that you must take on this job with a strong sense of humility and surround yourself with a team of capable folks who not only support your ideas but are also not afraid to tell you that you may be wrong. A good leader listens to the views of others and recognizes that he/she may sometimes have made the wrong call. That can be a learning moment which can only help you improve going forward. Finally, I think you have to truly enjoy helping people. If you don't then you are in the wrong business because the most important part of this job is trying to improve the lives of your fellow citizens.
I’m the only candidate with public service experience starting with serving in the Army to my current service as State Representative. I’ve been a soldier, a Court appointed Attorney, a teacher, Program Director for Homeless Veterans, a Correctional Officer and more. I’m the only candidate that has successfully overseen multimillion-dollar government agencies. As a West Goshen Twp. Supervisor, I’m proud that we did not raise taxes and maintained balanced budgets and healthy surpluses each year of my tenure. As Recorder of Deeds, we increased County revenue to over $9 million, cut overall fees and improved the department in multiple, cost saving ways. Despite the COVID shutdown, we never stopped sending millions of revenue dollars to our schools and our local municipalities. As a new Representative I passed 3 bills in the House, 1 Resolution and had a bill signed into actual law with bi-partisan support, HB1278 – the Renewal and Amending of the Wiretap Act. In addition, I helped to bring over $7.5 million in grants to our Community. I’m the only experienced, tested and proven candidate, and I’m ready to continue proudly representing the residents of the 156th.
Helping people with their problems and trying to improve their lives. One is reactive (i.e. constituent services) and the other is proactive (legislation).
That I helped to improve the lives of the citizens and the lives of future generations of our District and our Commonwealth.
Not at this point in time.
Not entirely and not for all situations. For example, while there are limits on the Governor using emergency powers there are certain situations that would demand immediate action for the health, safety, and welfare of citizens that would best be executed by the Governor.
I have introduced many bills during my first session including one that was recently signed into law, HB 1278. For more information on this bills I have introduced and sponsored please visit https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/House_bio.cfm?id=1975.
I have received many endorsements and continue to receive them on a daily basis such as: Planned Parenthood, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, the Sierra Club and more.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Christopher Pielli completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pielli's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I've built my career around public service starting with the U.S. Army and now as Chester County Recorder of Deeds. I’m an attorney by trade but I have been a soldier, a teacher, a Correctional Counselor/Officer, Veteran’s advocate, and more. Most importantly, I’m a husband and father. I ‘m a long-time resident of West Chester. After serving in the Army, I attended Temple University Law School with help from the GI Bill. During this time, I married my lovely wife, Christine, and worked as a Correctional Officer and later as a Correctional Counselor. I was elected as a West Goshen Township Supervisor in 2015. I’m proud of the fact that we passed balanced budgets and surpluses each year of my tenure. In 2019 I was elected Recorder of Deeds. We reduced costs, raised record revenue, and improved the office in many ways. Most notably, we continued operating throughout the pandemic delivering much needed revenue to County municipalities and school districts including over $9 million in net County revenue which helped support our local economy. My success is due to my fellow dedicated colleagues and my wife of twenty-six years, Christine. We are the proud parents of two wonderful children and consider ourselves blessed to live in Chester County.
- As your State Representative of the 156th I will fight for a living wage, protect our environment, our voting rights, a woman’s right to choose, small business owners, a robust state economy, and a citizen’s right to enjoy the equal protection of the law no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion, because Government that doesn’t work for everyone inevitably will not work for anyone.
- It’s no secret that Harrisburg is broken and much of the dysfunction is created by the legislature itself. We can work towards finding solutions to our most pressing problems by taking the commonsense approach that most folks want from our elected officials, fiscal responsibility and social tolerance. Folks are scared and angry, yet I believe we share concerns regarding our families and future. Let’s start on what we can agree on
- I am experienced, tested and proven and I am ready to represent the residents of the 156th on day one. As a Democratic West Goshen Supervisor, I received the most votes in a Republican majority township before Trump because I know how to work across the aisle to address problems we all share. I’m proud that we did not raise taxes and maintained balanced budgets and healthy surpluses each year of my tenure. As Recorder of Deeds, I helped to increase County revenue to over $9 million dollars, cut overall fees and improved the department in multiple, cost saving ways. All this during a historic Pandemic. We never stopped sending our municipalities and school districts millions of dollars of collected revenue throughout the shutdown.
There are many public policy priorities that I am passionate about that need our immediate attention in Harrisburg. Priorities such as Jobs, Infrastructure, the Environment, the Protection of our Voting Rights, Proper Funding for Public Education, a Woman's Right to Choose, and the Defense of our Republic and our Constitutional Rights are all in dire need of immediate attention due to the constant dysfunction and radical extremism in Harrisburg. These are challenging times, and we must fight to ensure the future of our Democracy by promptly taking on all these issues and more. It's time to quit extremist culture wars and get down to business. If you are to ask how I will try to approach these priorities I can tell you that I will try my best to employ the following three "personal" policies: I will seek solutions, not blame, reason not rage, and tolerance not hatred.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Pennsylvania scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Pennsylvania State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 13.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 |
Officeholder Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 4, 2022
- ↑ PA House of Representatives, "Chris Pielli," accessed February 3, 2023
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 23, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dianne Herrin (D) |
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 156 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
