- Peter H. Kostmayer
Peter Houston Kostmayer (Born
September 27 ,1946 ) was a Democratic politician who served two stints in theU.S. House of Representatives from Bucks County,Pennsylvania .Peter H. Kostmayer was born in
New York City , graduated fromWest Nottingham Academy in Colora,Maryland , in 1965, and received a B.A. fromColumbia University in New York City in1971 .Prior to his political career, Kostmayer worked as a reporter from 1971 to 1972. He then served as press secretary to
Pennsylvania Attorney General J. Shane Cramer from 1972 to 1973 and deputy press secretary to GovernorMilton Shapp from 1973 to 1976.Political career
Following the retirement of Rep.
Edward G. Biester, Jr. in 1976, Kostmayer took on State Representative John S. Renninger for the open seat. WithJimmy Carter taking Pennsylvania in the 1976 election, Kostmayer rode to victory by a 1,300 vote margin. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31648 Ourcampaigns.com, 1976 race detail] ] He won re-election in 1978 against G. Roger Bowers with a more comfortable 61% of the vote. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=53384 Ourcampaigns.com, 1978 race detail] ]His fortunes were reversed in 1980 with
Ronald Reagan sweeping to victory amid a less favorable atmosphere for Democrats. By less than 4,000 votes, Republican James Coyne defeated Kostmayer. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=39207 Ourcampaigns.com, 1980 race detail] ]Coyne's victory was short-lived as Kostmayer won back his seat in a 1982 rematch by a mere 2,300 votes. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=37467 Ourcampaigns.com, 1982 race detail] ] Despite President Reagan's landslide in the 1984 presidential race, Kostmayer won re-election over
David Christian by less than 4,000 votes. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=52185 Ourcampaigns.com, 1984 race detail] ] The race could be considered notable as Christian's campaign manager was future Bush Administration press secretaryAri Fleischer .Following his scare in 1984, Kostmayer enjoyed relatively comfortable victories in 1986, 1988 and 1990.
In 1992, Kostmayer faced a new opponent in State Senator
James C. Greenwood , who was once a legislative aide to Kostmayer's first opponent, John Renninger. Greenwood overcame Bill Clinton's victory in Bucks County to defeat Kostmayer with almost 52% of the vote. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=28408 Ourcampaigns.com, 1992 race detail] ]Post-Congress
Following his defeat Kostmayer became the Administrator, Region III (Philadelphia) of the Environmental Protection Agency from 1994 to 1995. Later, he served as the President of
Zero Population Growth .Kostmayer considered a race against Senator
Rick Santorum in 2000, but dropped out early. [ [http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/almanac/2002/people/pa/pas2.htm National Journal Almanac, 2002, Rick Santorum] ]He made one more bid for public office in 2002, when he entered the race for
Pennsylvania State Senate against incumbent SenatorTommy Tomlinson . Kostmayer was defeated, taking 47% in the general election. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=38067 Ourcampaigns.com, 2002 race detail] ]Currently, he is the President of Citizens Committee for New York City.
References
*CongBio|K000319
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