John E. Barley

John E. Barley
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 100th district
In office
January 1, 1985 – April 2, 2002[1]
Preceded byGibson E. Armstrong
Succeeded byGibson C. Armstrong
Republican Whip of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 1995 – November 30, 1996
Preceded byJohn Perzel
Succeeded byDonald Snyder
Personal details
Born (1945-12-06) December 6, 1945 (age 78)
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Political partyRepublican
SpouseWendy L. Barley
OccupationFarmer

John E. Barley (born December 6, 1945) is a former American politician serving as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 100th District.

He graduated from Penn Manor High School in 1963. He took Dale Carnegie Courses in 1977 and took an introductory law class at Penn University in 1990.[2]

He was first elected to represent the 100th legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1985.[2] He served as Republican Caucus Secretary from 1991–92, as Republican Policy Committee Chairman from 1993–94, and as Majority Whip from 1995-96.[2] He was elected Majority Appropriations Chairman in 1997, a position he held until his retirement in 2002.[2]

In 2002, he was named to the PoliticsPA list of Best Dressed Legislators, noting his fondness for Brooks Brothers suits. He is said to single-handedly keep his local Brooks Brothers store in business.[3]

He resigned his House seat in late April 2002.[4] He had first announced his intention to retire in early 2002, only to change his mind in March, when he unexpectedly showed up at a local party committee meeting, where he received the Republican Party endorsement, shocking all that were in attendance.[4] He changed course again in March and announced his retirement, citing a growing controversy in his native Lancaster County over a portion of the Barley family farm to be sold to a landfill operated by Lancaster County for $24.7 million.[4] Barley predicted that had he continued with his re-election plans, his opponents would have tried to "destroy" him and his family.[4] Republican Gibson C. Armstrong, the son of Barley's predecessor Senator Gibson E. Armstrong, received the Republican endorsement and easily defeated Democrat Bruce Beardsley.[5]

The former Representative Barley is married to 'Wendy L. Barley', as of December 2009, he has been living in Lancaster City, PA [6] with his wife, Wendy Barley, where they are franchisees of the meterosexual-themed salon[7] American Male.[8] Barley also serves as the CEO of Versant Strategies.[9]

He can currently be seen on the Pennsylvania Cable Network offering political analysis.

  1. ^ Cox, Harold (November 3, 2004). "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - 2001-2002" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  2. ^ a b c d "John E. Barley (Republican)". Official Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2000-06-18.
  3. ^ "Sy Snyder's Best Dressed Legislators". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
  4. ^ a b c d Bull, John M.R. (2002-03-28). "Capitol abuzz over powerful Republican Barley's abrupt exit". Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
  5. ^ "2002 Special Election for the 100th Legislative District". Commonwealth of PA - Elections Information. Pennsylvania Department of State. 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-11-22.
  6. ^ Lancaster County Report Card [1], Accessed 8/12/11
  7. ^ AmericanMale
  8. ^ AmericanMale Lancaster "Lancaster Salon// American Male Salons: A Full Service Salon for Guys". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-08-15., Accessed 8/12/11
  9. ^ Versant Strategies [2], Accessed 8/12/11