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Government and law graduate Doug Reichley ’83 was honored as one of 40 emerging state leaders from across the nation by the prestigious Toll Fellowship Program sponsored by The Council of State Governments (CSG).

“CSG forecasts policy trends for the community of states, commonwealths, and territories,” explains Reichley. “The organization serves the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of state government through leadership education, research, and information services.”

Representing the 134th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Reichley was nominated and endorsed by House Republican Caucus leadership. He was selected from many outstanding applicants by a committee of state elected and appointed officials as one of the most promising leaders of state government

“The award is named in honor of Henry Toll, a Colorado senator who founded CSG in 1933. It is aimed at developing the next generation of leaders from all three branches of state government,” says Reichley.

He was recently re-elected to a third term.

“I serve 60,000 people living in Lehigh and Berks counties,” he says. “I serve on five committees dealing with the budget, health care issues, consumer issues, and utility regulation, and many other topics.”

His position has given him the opportunity to see legislation that is important to him be enacted.

“In my four-year tenure in the House, I am proud to have had five bills I introduced signed into law,” he says. “Most of these involved criminal law matters, drawing on my twelve-year experience as a prosecutor in Philadelphia and Allentown. The most significant of these laws is one signed earlier this year which increases the penalties on repeat and knowing violators of the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Act.”

Beyond the concrete goals achieved in bills such as these, Reichley has a larger vision for his work.

“I want to spread the importance of redeveloping an ethos to participate in the political process and to view service in government as an honorable and valuable profession,” he says.

Reichley has worked most of his life in public service, inheriting his interest in politics from his mother and father, who respectively worked for a Democratic mayor in Philadelphia, a Republican governor in Pennsylvania, and also President Ford. His interest was the focus of his coursework at Lafayette and a number of Lafayette professors were of great importance to him in preparing for his career.

“Professor[Paul] Pfretzschner was my adviser and helped me a great deal on my honors thesis on political realignments in presidential elections,” he says. “Professor Jim Lennertz was helpful in preparing me for the rigors of law school. The most influential was Professor Rick MatthewsHe taught a political philosophy course which was probably the most interesting of anything I studied at Lafayette.

“Lafayette gave me solid academic background for my career as a lawyer, prosecutor, and now state representative, but I must confess the most enjoyable semester I ever had was the one I spent in London interning in the House of CommonsThat was the first time in my college career I found so many people in one place who were all interested in politics.”

Categorized in: Alumni Profiles