Chris Rabb

American politician

Chris Rabb


Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 200th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Tonyelle Cook-Artis

Personal details
Born	(1970-02-21) February 21, 1970 (age 54) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	2
Relatives	Maurice Rabb Jr. (father) Billy Murphy Jr. (uncle) Madeline Wheeler Murphy (grandmother) John H. Murphy Sr. (great-great-grandfather)
Education	Yale University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MS)
Website	chrisrabb.com

Christopher M. Rabb (born February 21, 1970) is an American politician, professor, and author. A Democrat, he is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 200th District since 2017.^[1] In a heavily Democratic district where winning the primary is tantamount to winning the election, he defeated the incumbent, who had the support of the Democratic establishment, in 2016.^[2]

Early life and education

Rabb was born in Chicago, to an ophthalmologist and professor father, Maurice Rabb Jr., and a politically active mother, Madeline Murphy Rabb.^[3]^[4] His maternal grandmother Madeline Wheeler Murphy, was a Baltimore-based community activist, and his maternal grandfather, William H. Murphy Sr, was a judge in Baltimore^[5] Rabb's great-great-grandfather, John H. Murphy Sr., was born a slave and founded the Baltimore Afro-American in 1892.^[3] Shortly after beginning his undergraduate education at Yale in 1988, Rabb was instrumental in the removal of an image of a shackled slave from the common room of Calhoun College (named after alumnus John C. Calhoun), in the process Rabb also learned he was a descendant of Philip Livingston.^[6] Rabb received his bachelor's degree from Yale in 1992.^[6] Rabb got a master's degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006.^[7]

Career

In the early 90s Rabb worked as an aide to former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun.^[3] He then worked for the Clinton administration in the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business.^[3] Since moving to Philadelphia to obtain his master's at Penn, he has taught a business course at Temple University.^[3] He published the non-fiction book Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity in 2010.^[3]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

In 2016, Rabb defeated the incumbent Tonyelle Cook-Artis in a three-way Democratic primary 47% to 40%, and then defeated Republican challenger Latryse McDowell 94% to 5% in the November general election.^[8] He won the 2018 primary over challenger Melissa Scott 52%-48%, and has run unopposed since.^[9]

Vasectomy memo

On October 2, 2021, Rabb authored a memo to all members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives indicating that he will be introducing legislation to enforce reproductive responsibility among men. According to the memo, the proposal would "require all inseminators to undergo vasectomies within 6 weeks from having their third child or 40th birthday, whichever comes first." Rabb's satirical^[10] memo draws attention to the double-standard of regulating women's bodies via legislation while the equivalent bill affecting men would seem absurd.^[11]^[12] Rabb called the memo "parody legislation".^[12]

Committees

Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Democratic Vice Chair
Commerce, Subcommittee on Financial Services and Banking - Democratic Chair
Finance, Democratic Secretary
Judiciary

Personal life

Rabb has two sons and lives in East Mount Airy.^[3]

Published works

Invisible Capital: How Unseen Forces Shape Entrepreneurial Opportunity (2010) ISBN 9781605093079

References

^ "House Session Days". Retrieved April 9, 2018.
^ Holly Otterbein (May 19, 2016). "The Incredible Political Insurgency of Chris Rabb". Philadelphia Magazine.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Baer, John (January 14, 2017). "Meet new Philly State Rep. Chris Rabb". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
^ "Biography". September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
^ "The Honorable William H. Murphy, Sr.'s Biography". The HistoryMakers.
^ ^a ^b Carole Bass (March 19, 2014). "What's in a name? Looking for answers at Calhoun College". Yale Alumni Magazine.
^ "Vote Smart". Retrieved April 9, 2018.
^ "Pennsylvania Elections - Summary Results". electionreturns.pa.gov.
^ "Pennsylvania Elections - Office Results". www.electionreturns.pa.gov.
^ Sadeghi, McKenzie (October 7, 2021). "Fact check: Pennsylvania bill proposing restrictions on male reproductive rights is satirical". USA Today. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
^ "House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "3 Child Limit Bill Proposed in PA; Would Mandate Vasectomies". MSN. Retrieved October 5, 2021.