Republican state Rep. Curt Sonney of Harborcreek won't seek re-election

After 18 years in office, state Rep. Curt Sonney of Harborcreek has decided he won't seek a 10th term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Sonney, a Republican who represents the 4th Legislative District, announced his decision in a press release shortly before noon Tuesday.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of the 4th Legislative District since 2004,” Sonney said in his statement. “I have enjoyed advocating for and supporting our community."

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In an interview with the Erie Times-News, Sonney said he and his wife Cathy began considering his retirement last election.

"My wife and I plan on traveling extensively and spending as much time as we can with our children and grandchildren," he said, noting that he has three children and four grandchildren.

The 4th Legislative District includes Amity, Concord, Greene, Greenfield, Harborcreek, Leboeuf, North East, Union, Venango, Waterford and Wayne townships; Elgin, Mill Village, North East, Union City, Waterford and Wattsburg boroughs; and the city of Corry.

"It really and truly has just been a wonderful experience to be able to have held this job for so long," he said. "It takes a lot of hard work just to get here, let alone how much work it takes once you're here. It's an incredibly satisfying job and at the same time, an incredibly maddening job. And it's by no means an easy job. You have to have the right temperament and thick enough skin, especially in today's world. It seems to have gotten rougher as time has gone on, but I still believe in the process."

Sonney, 64, has served as the chairman of the House Education Committee his last two terms.

That chairmanship, he said in his statement, "has allowed me to help shape education policy throughout the Commonwealth, especially during these unprecedented times. I look forward to traveling and spending time with my family.”

Sonney worked in the private sector as a self-employed contractor and later for American Sterilizer, which is now the Steris Corporation, before seeking office.

The lifelong Harborcreek resident has also served on the executive committee for the bi-national, nonpartisan Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Legislative Caucus.

He was first elected in 2004 when he unseated three-term Democrat Thomas Scrimenti.

A redefined district map?

The 4th District will likely see some changes as state lawmakers debate decennial redistricting of legislative districts.

However, the 4th District wouldn't see much change in the way of the party affiliation of registered voters based on a current proposal, according to a recent analysis by Spotlight PA: Democratic registration would drop by 1.3 percentage point to 36.82%; Republican registration would increase by 0.5 percentage points to 49.28%.; And non-party/third-party registration would increase 0.75 percentage points to 13.9%.

The district would lose a significant portion of Harborcreek. Sonney said that under the proposal he would "just barely" live in the district.

It would, however, expand from its southwestern border, first to the west and then to the north to take in places like Edinboro and Girard.

"I would lose a heavily populated section of Harborcreek and then pick up a ton more rural," he said.

Sonney noted that the proposed map had nothing to do with his decision to retire. Instead, he wanted to make the announcement so that prospective candidates could get into the race.

State Sen. Dan Laughlin, of Millcreek, R-49th Dist., said he was disappointed to hear that Sonney won't seek re-election.

"I've enjoyed working with him over the last five years for the benefit of Erie County," Laughlin. "He's going to be missed. I look forward to working with whoever takes over his office, but they have big shoes to fill."

Contact Matthew Rink at mrink@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNrink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: State Rep. Curt Sonney of Harborcreek won't seek re-election