Biography

10/27/1940 - 12/19/2021

James William "Bill” Lincoln (D32) Fayette (Part), Westmoreland (Part) Counties 1979-1982 (D32) Fayette and Somerset (Part) Counties 1983-1992 (D32) Fayette, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland Counties 1993-1994

Early Life: 

James William "Bill” Lincoln, born October 27, 1940, Lemont Furnace, Fayette County, Pennsylvania; son of Phillip and Catherine Goodwin Lincoln; Connellsville High School, 1958; attended Penn State University; shoe salesman, Raub Shoe Store; milkman, Country Belle Dairy; district judge, two terms; married, Sandra Gambone, sons, James William Lincoln Jr., Eric Lincoln, Jerry Lincoln, Greg Lincoln;  married, Kathy Colborn Lincoln, 2007; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1972-1978; not a candidate for reelection, 1978; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1979-1994; elected, Senate Minority Whip, 1985-1992, elected, Senate Majority Leader, 1993-1994, not a candidate for reelection 1994; chairman, Democratic State Committee, 1991-1995; unsuccessful campaign, commissioner, Fayette County, 2003; gubernatorial appointee, commissioner, secretary-treasurer, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, 2004-2013; member, State Transportation Advisory Board; died, December 19, 2021, Parkinson ’s Disease, Uniontown Hospital, Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Interment will be private. Burial location unknown. 

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Saint Aloysius Church; trustee, University of Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania Politics: 

District Judge, two terms

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1972; reelected to serve 2 more consecutive terms; not a candidate for reelection to the House, 1978.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 32nd district, Fayette (Part), Westmoreland (Part) Counties, 1979-1982, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 32nd district, Fayette and Somerset (Part) Counties, 1983-1992, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 32nd district, Fayette, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland Counties, 1993-1994; elected, Senate Minority Whip, 1985-1992, elected, Senate Majority Leader, 1993-1994; committee assignments, Aging and Youth, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Appropriations, Communications and High Technology, Education, Environmental Resources and Energy, Game and Fisheries (Chairman), Rules and Executive Nominations (Chairman), Transportation; appointed, Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, 1979-1982; appointed, Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee, 1981-1992; appointed, Legislative Audit Advisory Committee, 1981-1994; appointed, Joint State Government Commission, 1985-1994; not a candidate for reelection 1994.  

Chairman, Democratic State Committee, 1991-1995.

Unsuccessful campaign, commissioner, Fayette County, 2003.  

Appointee, Governor Edward Gene Rendell, commissioner, secretary-treasurer, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, 2004-2013. 

Member, State Transportation Advisory Board. 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "L"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

The Pennsylvania Manual, (1984-1985). Doukas, O., (Editor). (Volume 107). Department of General Services. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 76, 94.

The Pennsylvania Manual, (1993). McQuown, L. S., (Editor). Ehgartner, G. J., (Editor). (Volume 111). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, page, 3-40. Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 3-17.