pa_gov_LUKSIK

PEG LUKSIK

• Born in Alabama but raised in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Luksik graduated magna cum laude from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in special education and elementary education. She went on to do post-graduate studies in special education but never finished her master's degree coursework.

• From 1977 to 1982, Luksik was an elementary and special education teacher. In 1983, after the birth of her first child, she founded Mom's House, a network of day care centers for single parents trying to finish their educations.

• In 1986, Luksik founded the Pennsylvania Parents Commission, a statewide organization to give parents a voice in education reform. She burst onto the national education reform scene in 1993, when she founded the National Parents Commission and produced a videotape which criticized outcome-based education as part of an organized effort by unions and corporate interests to usurp parents' control of their children's education. Her efforts drew support from Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition and Citizens for Excellence in Education, a California-based organization that seeks to elect Christians to school boards.

• Luksik is widely known as an anti-abortion activist. In 1990, she ran in the GOP gubernatorial primary as a pro-life alternative to the Republican Prty favorite and pro-choice candidate Barbara Hafer. Luksik captured 46% of the vote, and in the eyes of many, proved herself as a credible candidate.

• In 1994, Luksik ran for governor as a third party candidate and garned a respectable 13% of the vote, depriving winner Tom Ridge of a majority. In this yearÂ's campaign, her third try for the governorÂ's office, she is running on a broader range of issues and hoping to increase her share of the vote.