Phil W. Royce

Phillip William Royce (born January 3, 1949) is an American politician and businessman who has served as the governor of Pennsylvania from January 20, 2003 to January 20, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Greg Garett in the 2002 gubernatorial election and was re-elected in 2006 by a margin of 8.5%. Prior to his election as governor, Royce was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 2nd district from January 1999 to January 2003.

Early life and education
Royce was born and raised in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, the son of Charles Royce (1924–2004) and Madeline Royce (1921–2001).

He was raised Methodist, and is still affiliated with the Methodists.

Royce graduated from Penn State University, in 1968. He went on to receive a B.A. in government, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 1973, and a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982.

After earning his Ph.D., his critic on the United States House of Representatives was named the best of 1982 by the American Political Science Association. Royce eventually became a professor at Penn State University, from 1984-1999.

He met his wife, Susan Pershing, at school and married her in 1978. They have two sons and daughters.

1998
Royce considered running for office in 1996, in Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district, against the three-term Democratic incumbent John Hicks. However he decided to postpone his campaign to 1998. When he ran in 1998, he won the primary by a margin of 1.2%. The Republicans nominated Trucker Tucker Tusk as their candidate.

During the campaign Royce won the endorsements of Speaker Fred Harris, President John Calvin, and many other prominent Democrats. While Tusk was campaigning as an outsider and ran a low-key campaign.

The result was a landslide for Royce, resulting in him winning 82.8% of the vote, compared to Tusk's 13.3%.

2000
Royce ran for re-election unopposed in 2000, and ran against Republican Steve Kelly in the general election.

During the campaign Royce lead in the uncompetitive district against Kelly. Royce had Kelly beat 3-1 in fundraising and ad spending. As many potential donors refused to give funds to a "lost cause".

The result was another landslide for Royce, with him winning 67.1% of the vote, to Kelly's 32.8%.

House Tenure
During his tenure in Congress, Royce has prioritised legislative measures to address national income inequality, as well as endorsing programs that expand access to healthcare and education. He has supported legislation to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.00 to $7.00 an hour, and measures to establish an Ironclad Lockbox for Social Security benefits to protect seniors.

Royce also gave a keynote address at the 2000 Democratic Convention at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Committee assignments
While in the House of Representatives, Royce served on the following committees:


 * Committee on Foreign Affairs
 * Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism
 * Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organisations
 * Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats

Caucus memberships

 * Healthy Kids Caucus
 * International Conservation Caucus
 * Climate Solution Caucus


 * After-school Caucuses

2002
On April 20, 2001, Royce announced his candidacy for Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2002 election. He raised $7 million from supporters throughout the state. He was the third person to announce candidacy, following State Senator Humphrey Hawkins and Secretary of State Jim Matthews. But following Royce's candidacy Hawkins dropped out.

Early on, The primary was very close. Many polls suggested that Matthews was the favourite, this was until in March when several Campaign Finance violations came to light. This resulted in Royce becoming the front-runner in the primary, and later the Democratic nominee for governor. Royce won the primary with 54.9% of the vote.

Royce faced off Republican Governor Greg Garett in the November general election. Garett was an unpopular governor, embroiled in several major scandals. Heading into the final two months of the campaign, a number of polls indicated a varying but consistent advantage for Royce over Garett. Though Garett slightly narrowed the deficit as the election approached, Royce maintained a persistent lead in the race. Royce ended up winning on election day, with 54.4% of the vote.

2006
On April 21, 2005, Royce announced his re-election for the governorship of Pennsylvania in the 2006 Election. Royce ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Royce faced Steve Kelly, the man who had previously challenged him for his House seat during the 2000 election. Kelly won the Republican nomination with 56.3% of the vote, against Representative Paul Simon. The campaign saw Royce leading for the most part, as he was quite popular. Royce ended up winning, with 58.5% of the vote, to Kelly's 40.2%.

First term
Royce became Governor of Pennsylvania upon the expiration of Garett's term on January 20, 2003, with the inaugural ceremony occurring in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. Upon taking office, Royce opted to move into the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence. Shortly after being sworn in, Royce signed 2 executive orders banning the practice of hydraulic fracturing and ending the Death Penalty in the state. Royce proposed his first budget in March 2003, which included an increase in education spending, reductions in property taxes and the corporate tax, and a new severance tax on natural gas.

On July 4, 2004, Wolf vetoed a budget submitted to him by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, causing a budget dispute between the governor's office and the legislature. This marked the first time a Pennsylvania governor vetoed a budget bill in its entirety since Milton Shapp did so in 1976. Royce argued the budget was not balanced, disputing Republicans' claim that it would provide increased funding in certain areas without raising taxes. A point of dispute in the budget process was the proposed privatisation of Pennsylvania's wine and liquor sales, which Wolf opposes. The state operated without a full budget for 267 days the longest period without a full budget in Pennsylvania history.

Second term
On June 5, 2007 Royce announced the "Stop It, get some help" campaign, which aims to expand awareness of sexual assault in schools and on college campuses. This announcement made Pennsylvania the first state to implement a statewide campaign that called for a collaboration of schools, law enforcement, victim services organisations, and other community members to promote awareness, education, and bystander intervention of sexual violence specifically on school campuses.

Royce has also signed several bills, including the Pennsylvanian Pension Reform act, The Pennsylvanian Opioid Rehabilitation Act, and many other pieces of legislation. However Royce has vetoed a bill legalising marijuana in the state, and has expressed his opposition to legalised medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, a break from several other Democratic governors.

Authorships
Royce's first book, "STOP: The Crisis of sexual assault", released in 2007, became an influential text in the field of Sexual Assault in Schools. This book was a part of his "Stop It, get some help" Sexual Assault awareness campaign.

Royce's second book "The Keystone Governor: The governorship of Phil Royce", released in 2012, was a book which described Royce's tenure as governor of Pennsylvania from 2003-2011.