Marla Brown

American politician

Marla Brown

Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Chris Sainato

Personal details
Born	1970 (age 53–54) Edinburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Greg Brown
Children	3
Residence(s)	New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Gannon University (BA) Geneva College (MS)
Alma mater	Mohawk High School
Website	www.repmarlabrown.com

Marla A. Gallo Brown^[1] (born 1970) is an American politician who currently represents the 9th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 2023. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Brown was born in 1970, the eldest of six siblings,^[2] in Edinburg, Pennsylvania.^[3] She is of Italian ancestry.^[2] Brown graduated from Mohawk High School in 1988.^[2]^[4] She earned Bachelor of Arts degree from Gannon University in 1992 and a Master of Science from Geneva College in 2000.^[4]

Career

Brown worked for UPS for 15 years,^[3] including working in London as the company's director of sales and marketing for the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[3]^[5] She later ran a medical spa in Georgia for nine years.^[3]

In 2022, Brown won a three-way Republican primary election to challenge incumbent Democratic Pennsylvania State Representative from the 9th District Chris Sainato.^[6] She defeated Sainato in the general election.^[7]

Political positions

Abortion

Brown opposes the right to an abortion. From 2015 to 2018, she was CEO of Pregnancy Aid Clinic,^[6] an Atlanta-based Catholic anti-abortion organization.^[6]^[8]

Criminal justice

Following a spate of local false school shooting reports in 2023,^[9] Brown introduced a bill to elevate making a false emergency call to illicit a police response, otherwise known as swatting, from a misdemeanor offense to a felony.^[10]^[11]

Brown supports decreasing the state parole board vote for clemency from unanimous approval to a simple majority.^[12]

Election reform

In April 2023, Brown introduced a bill that would create open primary elections in Pennsylvania.^[13]^[14] She has argued against closed primary elections, saying that they are unfair to independent votes who cannot participate in elections funded by their tax dollars. In an op-ed with State Representative Jared Solomon, Brown also argued primary election should be open because of the large number of veterans, young people, and minorities who are registered as independents.^[15]

Brown has called monetary campaign fundraising a "necessary evil of the [election] process," which is nonetheless beneficial because it demonstrates whether a candidate is capable of successfully spreading their message.^[16]

Legislative perks

During her 2022 campaign, Brown signed a pledge to refuse state per diems, state pension, or taxpayer-funded car. Brown also pledge to only serve eight years in the state legislature.^[17]

Minimum wage

Brown voted against a bill to incrementally raise Pennsylvania's minimum to fifteen dollars an hour by 2026.^[18]

Personal life

Brown lives in New Castle, Pennsylvania with her husband Greg Brown. She has three children.^[4]^[19]

Electoral history

2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican primary election, District 9^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marla Gallo Brown	3,192	42.62
	Republican	Nick Kerin	2,896	38.66
	Republican	Darryl Audia	1,352	18.05
	Write-in	Chris Sainato	40	0.53
	Write-in	Scattered	10	0.13
Total votes			7,490	100.00

2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 9^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marla Gallo Brown	13,721	52.81
	Democratic	Chris Sainato (incumbent)	12,219	47.03
	Write-in		44	0.17
Total votes			25,984	100.00

References

^ "2022 General Election Tuesday, November 8, 2022 Official Returns LAWRENCE". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "About Marla Brown". Marla Brown for PA. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Vercilla, Nicholas (October 31, 2022). "Sainato, Brown set the record straight on mailer accusations". New Castle News. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Representative Marla Brown". Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ "Local woman to seek state representative seat". New Castle News. February 19, 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Previti, Emily (October 3, 2022). "Pennsylvania State House 9th District: A guide to the 2022 general election and candidates". 90.5 WESA. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ Murphy, Jan (November 9, 2022). "Pa. Democrats claim they took control of the state House; GOP says not so fast". PennLIVE Patriot-News. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ "About Us". Pregnancy Aid Clinic. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ Coller, Patty (August 22, 2023). "New Castle High School threat prompts felony bill". WKBN-TV. Nexstar Media Inc. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^ "Pennsylvania lawmaker wants tougher penalties for swatting calls targeting schools". WGAL-TV. Hearst Television Inc. August 23, 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ Valente, Mike (August 23, 2023). "With students heading back to classroom, Pennsylvania lawmaker talks anti-swatting b". WTAE-TV. Hearst Television Inc. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ Brown, Marla (August 25, 2023). "Column by Rep. Marla Brown: Legislator's responsibilities are to understand its constituents. That must include our prison population". New Castle News. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ "HOUSE BILL No.976 Session of 2023". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
^ Stockburger, George (March 6, 2023). "Pennsylvania lawmaker introduces open primaries bill". abc27 WHTM. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
^ Solomon, Jared; Brown, Marla (July 11, 2023). "Opinion: A million reasons to open up primaries in Pennsylvania". City & State Pennsylvania. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
^ Huangpu, Kate (January 1, 2023). "The Pennsylvania legislature is getting a major infusion of new blood this January". 90.5 WESA. Spotlight PA. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
^ Vercilla, Nicholas (October 15, 2022). "District 9 preview: Brown wants to be an advocate for District 9". New Castle News. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ Scicchitano, Eric (June 27, 2023). "Eye on the Capitol: How Bernstine, Brown, Brooks, Vogel voted last week". New Castle News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
^ "About Marla". PA State Rep. Marla Brown. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ "Summary Results Report 2022 PRIMARY May 17, 2022 OFFICIAL RESULTS Lawrence" (PDF). Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. June 7, 2022. p. 36. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ "Summary Results Report 2022 General November 8,2022 OFFICIAL RESULTS Lawrence" (PDF). Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. December 1, 2022. p. 4. Retrieved 8 January 2023.