Charles W. Dent
was elected to Congress Nov. 2, 2004, after
serving for 14 years in the Pennsylvania
Legislature. Charlie represents Pennsylvania 's
15th District, which spans four counties in
Eastern Pennsylvania: most of Lehigh, all of
Northampton , and parts of Montgomery and Berks
counties.
Congressman
Dent was sworn in as a Member of the 109th
Congress on Jan. 3, 2005. The Congressman serves
on three
House committees: Transportation and
Infrastructure, Homeland
Security and
Government Reform.
Born May 24,
1960, Charlie Dent is a life-long Lehigh Valley
resident. He was born and raised in Allentown ,
the son of Walter R. "Pete" Dent and Marjorie
Dent. The Congressman and his wife Pamela reside
in Allentown with their three children, Kathryn
Elizabeth, William Reed and Charles John "Jack"
Dent.
Congressman
Dent is a 1978 graduate of William Allen High
School in Allentown . He earned a degree in
Foreign Service and International Politics from
Pennsylvania State University in 1982 and a
Master's Degree in Public Administration from
Lehigh University in Bethlehem in 1993.
Charlie worked
as a development officer for Lehigh University
from 1986 to 1990, when he was elected to the
state House. After four terms in the House,
Charlie won election to the state Senate in
1998, and was re-elected with 65 percent of the
vote in 2002. In 2004, he ran for the
Congressional seat that was being vacated by
U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey.
