Steve Irwin

Steven Dane Irwin (born July 1, 1959) is an American lawyer, activist, and politician who currently serves as Chair of the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and previously served as the Banking and Securities Commissioner of Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, Irwin ran for Congress in 2022, but was defeated in one of the nation's closest races, by State Representative Summer Lee in the primary. Early life Irwin spent his early childhood in Queens, New York and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida when he was age 10. His father, a Korean War veteran, worked as a butcher and his mother worked as a secretary to a Rabbi. One of the only Jews in St. Petersburg, he was often bullied and his house was egged because he was Jewish. He attended Harvard University, on a scholarship, and went on to attend Georgetown Law School. At Georgetown Law, Irwin wrote for three of the school's law journals. Career Irwin worked as a legislative aid for Senator Arlen Specter from 1982 to 1986. While working for Specter, Irwin took a leading role in helping to establish the Pittsburgh Light Rail and the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway. Following his work with Specter, Irwin moved to Pittsburgh, to live with his wife, a Pittsburgh-native. His first job in Pittsburgh was clerking for judge Joseph F. Weis Jr., who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.