{{Short description|American politician (1936–2020)}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Ivan Itkin |image = Ivan Itkin 1980.jpg |caption = Itkin {{circa}} 1980 |office = Majority Leader of the<br />Pennsylvania House of Representatives |term_start = January 5, 1993 |term_end = January 3, 1995 |predecessor = Bill DeWeese |successor = Bill DeWeese |state_house1 = Pennsylvania |district1 = 23rd |term_start1 = January 2, 1973 |term_end1 = January 5, 1999 |predecessor1 = Gerald Kaufman |successor1 = Dan Frankel |birth_date = {{birth date|1936|3|29}} |birth_place = {{nowrap|New York City, New York, U.S.}} |death_date = {{death date and age|2020|4|5|1936|3|29}} |death_place = Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |party = Democratic |spouse = Joyce Hudak |children = 3 |education = New York University (BS, MS)<br>University of Pittsburgh (PhD) }} '''Ivan Itkin''' (March 29, 1936 – April 5, 2020) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1973 to 1998. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1998.
==Early life== Itkin was born in New York City on March 9, 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19981029&id=dosyAAAAIBAJ&pg=3986,3009270 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-06-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312103752/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19981029&id=dosyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zeYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3986,3009270 |archive-date=2016-03-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1956, he graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. Itkin went on to receive a master's degree from New York University in Nuclear Engineering in 1957. After a stint working as a reactor physicist at Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19620515&id=OcUwAAAAIBAJ&pg=5252,2256604 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-06-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312103817/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19620515&id=OcUwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JWwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5252,2256604 |archive-date=2016-03-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Itkin received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964. He worked as a nuclear scientist and applied mathematician until 1972, when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' 23rd District, which includes portions of Allegheny County.<ref name="Archives">{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/mg/mg469.htm |title=PA State Archives - MG-469 - Scope and Content Note - Ivan Itkin Papers |website=Phmc.state.pa.us |date=1936-03-29 |accessdate=2017-05-17}}</ref>
==Political career== ===State House of Representatives=== thumb|left|Palm card, 1980 Itkin held a variety of leadership positions with the House's Democratic caucus. He served as majority whip from 1990 though 1992. He was elected majority leader in 1992, and minority whip in 1994. He was also appointed Speaker Pro Tempore during the 1987-1988 session.<ref name="Archives" />
===Candidate for governor=== {{Main|1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election}} Itkin ran against Republican incumbent Tom Ridge. He and his running mate, former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, lost the election with 31% of the vote.<ref name="atlas">{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1998&fips=42&f=0&off=5&elect=0|title=1998 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Pennsylvania|website=Uselectionatlas.org|accessdate=2017-05-17}}</ref>
{{Election box begin no change| title=1998 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election<ref name="atlas" />}} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Republican Party (US) |candidate = '''Tom Ridge'''<br> Running mate: '''Mark Schweiker''' |votes = 1,736,844 |percentage = 57.42 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Democratic Party (US) |candidate = Ivan Itkin<br> Running mate: Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky |votes = 938,745 |percentage = 31.03 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Constitution Party (US) |candidate = Peg Luksik<br> Running mate :Jim Clymer |votes = 315,761 |percentage = 10.04 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Libertarian Party (US) |candidate = Ken Krawchuk<br> Running mate: Henry Haller III |votes = 33,591 |percentage = 1.11 }} {{Election box end}}
==Later career== Itkin retired from the House following his gubernatorial defeat and was subsequently appointed director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management in the Department of Energy by President Bill Clinton in 1999.<ref name="Archives" />
He died of heart failure on April 5, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at age 84.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2020/04/15/Ivan-Itkin-obituary/stories/202004150150 |title=Obituary: Ivan Itkin, former state representative admired for his intellect throughout 13 terms |publisher=Post-gazette.com |date=2020-04-15 |accessdate=2020-04-30}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/mg/mg469.htm PA State Archives: Ivan Itkin]
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-pa-hs}} {{s-bef|before=Bill DeWeese}} {{s-ttl|title=Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives|years=1993–1995}} {{s-aft|after=Bill DeWeese}} |- {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=Mark Singel}} {{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania|years=1998}} {{s-aft|after=Ed Rendell}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itkin, Ivan}} Category:1936 births Category:2020 deaths Category:American nuclear physicists Category:Candidates in the 1998 United States elections Category:Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Category:Politicians from New York City Category:Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni Category:University of Pittsburgh alumni Category:Scientists from New York (state) Category:20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly