State Rep. Frank Oliver thought long and hard about a 20th two-year term in the state General Assembly. And then he thought about his wife and decided to retire instead of running for re-election this year.
“I’ve been promising my wife for the last 10 years that I was going to retire,” he said. “Of course, every time it came to re-election, I went ahead and ran again”
Democrat Oliver, 87, hopes to see his longtime aide, Michelle Brownlee, succeed him in the 195th District, which covers parts of North Philly, Fairmount and Mantua.
Oliver said Brownlee walked in off the street 37 years ago as a volunteer for his legislative district and has been there since.
Brownlee, a committeewoman in the 29th Ward, which Oliver heads, declined to comment on her candidacy this week, saying that she was focused on starting the petition process to get her name on the ballot.
