Mike Folmer
undated photo, before March 2010
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 48th district
In office
January 2, 2007 – September 18, 2019
Preceded byDavid Brightbill
Succeeded byDave Arnold
Personal details
Born (1956-01-02) January 2, 1956
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (until sometime between 1988 and 2005)
SpouseSheila Folmer
Residence(s)Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Mike Folmer
Criminal statusProbation
Conviction(s)Child pornography possession and criminal communication
Criminal penalty1–2 years in prison, 8 years probation, 15 years on state sex offender registry
Date apprehended
2020
Imprisoned atReleased on probation in 2021

Michael Folmer (born January 2, 1956) is an American politician and convicted sex offender. He represented the 48th district in the Pennsylvania State Senate, which includes all of Lebanon County and portions of Dauphin and York Counties, from 2007 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.

In September 2019 he was arrested on child pornography charges and resigned his State Senate seat. In July 2020, Folmer was sentenced to one to two years in county jail.

Personal life

Folmer was born and raised in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Lebanon Senior High School in 1974, he attended Grace College (in Indiana) where he majored in History and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978. He returned to the Lebanon Valley where he worked in financial consulting and sales management.[1][2] In the 1990s and early 2000s, Folmer worked in the produce industry, including his related family-owned business.[3]

Early political career

In 1986, Folmer was elected to Lebanon City Council as a Democrat and served a single two-year term.[1][2]

Folmer became a Republican sometime after his tenure on the city council. In 2005, Folmer and other local concerned citizens organized the Constitutional Organization Of Lebanon (COOL).[1][2]

Pennsylvania senate

2006 Election

In 2006, Folmer, who was known through his campaign as "Citizen Mike", was one of several challengers whose campaigns were sparked by the state's 2005 legislative pay raise. Folmer's district was represented by 25-year incumbent Chip Brightbill, the Senate majority leader. Brightbill, along with Senate President pro tempore Robert Jubelirer took much of the criticism for the pay raise and were among the primary targets of activists seeking to vote out legislators who supported it.[4]

His campaign's largest contributor was Bob Guzzardi,[5] however most of his funding came from small donations of individuals within his district.

On election day, Folmer overcame Brightbill's 20–1 fundraising advantage[6] of $1 million to $50,000 and won with over 63% of the vote.[7] Folmer went on to defeat Democrat John Liss in the general election with over 63% of the vote.[8]

2010 election

In the 2010 election, Folmer was challenged by Democrat Jo Ellen Litz, one of Lebanon County's three County Commissioners. He was re-elected with over 72% of the vote.

In 2013, Folmer became the majority chair for the Pennsylvania Senate committee on education.[9]

2014 election

Folmer was unopposed and won the 2014 primary and general elections with 2,359 and 12,919 votes, respectively.[10][11]

In 2015, Folmer became the majority chair of the Pennsylvania Senate's State Government committee.[9] He co-sponsored Senate Bill 3, to legalize medical marijuana in the state, which was signed into law in April 2016.[3][12]

2018 election

Folmer was unopposed in the 2018 primary election, with 4,121 votes, and defeated Democrat Lois K. Herr in November's general election.[13]

Arrest, resignation, and aftermath

On September 17, 2019, Folmer was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, and criminal use of a communication facility. Police traced a sexually explicit image of an underage girl to Folmer's computer; Folmer had uploaded it to his Tumblr blog in December 2017.[14] Two more such images were found on his cell phone.[14][15][16] He was released on $25,000 bail.[17]

Amid bipartisan calls for him to step down, Folmer resigned from office the day after his arrest.[18] A week later, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman scheduled a special election for January 14, 2020, to determine Folmer's successor,[19] which was won by Republican Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold.[20]

Folmer waived his preliminary hearing in October 2019.[21] In late February 2020, he pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communications facility; a sentencing hearing was scheduled for late May.[22] In July 2020, Folmer was sentenced to one to two years in county jail plus eight years on probation.[23] He was placed initially at Lebanon County prison.[3] Parole was approved in June 2021 and Folmer was released from prison in July 2021 to serve his probation and remain registered as a sex offender for 15 years.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Folmer, Mike. "Bio – Senator Mike Folmer". senatorfolmer.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Shelly, Nora (September 18, 2019). "Who is Mike Folmer? Pa. state senator arrested on child pornography charges, resigns seat". Lebanon Daily News. Lebanon, Pennsylvania: Gannett. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Coyle, Chris (July 21, 2020). "Michael Folmer, former state senator, sentenced to just less than two years on child porn charges, avoids state prison". LebTown. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ Mauriello, Tracie; Barnes, Tom (May 17, 2006). "Republican Leaders Fall". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Block Communications.
  5. ↑ Pidgeon, Dave (March 14, 2006). "Brightbill criticizes primary foe's poll". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lancaster Newspapers Inc. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012.
  6. ↑ DeParle, Jason (May 18, 2006). "G.O.P. Conservatives Topple Veteran State Lawmakers in Pennsylvania". The New York Times. New York City.
  7. ↑ "May 2006 Primary Results, Pennsylvania Department of State". Archived from the original on June 26, 2008.
  8. ↑ "November 2006 General Election, Pennsylvania Department of State". Archived from the original on May 29, 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Mike Folmer profile". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ "2014 General Primary Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State. May 20, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  11. ↑ "2014 General Election Official Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Governor signs medical marijuana bill". The Tribune-Democrat. Associated Press. April 18, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  13. ↑ "2018 General Primary Returns". Pennsylvania Department of State. May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  14. 1 2 Allyn, Bobby; Zialcita, Paolo (September 18, 2019). "Pennsylvania State Senator Resigns After Arrest on Child Porn Charges". NPR. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  15. ↑ Couloumbis, Angela (September 17, 2019). "Pa. state senator from Lebanon County charged with possession of child pornography". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  16. ↑ "AG Shapiro Charges PA State Senator for Possession of Child Pornography". attorneygeneral.gov (Press release). Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. September 17, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  17. ↑ Marroni, Steve (September 26, 2019). "Former Pa. Sen. Folmer's hearing on child porn charges postponed". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Gannett. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  18. ↑ Deto, Ryan (September 18, 2019). "Pa. state Senator Mike Folmer resigns following child porn possession charges". Pittsburgh City Paper. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Eagle Media Corp. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  19. ↑ Kulp, Andrew; Shelly, Nora (September 25, 2019). "Mike Folmer Pa. state Senate seat: Date set for special election". Lebanon Daily News. Lebanon, Pennsylvania: Advance Publications. Retrieved September 26, 2019 – via MSN.
  20. ↑ "Dave Arnold wins 48th Senatorial District special election". WHP. January 14, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Mike Folmer, former central Pa. lawmaker, waives hearing on child pornography charges". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Advance Publications. The Associated Press. October 18, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Former Pennsylvania state Sen. Mike Folmer pleads guilty in child porn case". The Morning Call. Associated Press. February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  23. ↑ Shelly, Nora (July 22, 2020). "Former Lebanon state Sen. Mike Folmer sentenced to 1-2 years on child porn charges". Lebanon Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2020 – via MSN.
  24. ↑ Miller, Matt (July 22, 2021). "Former Pa. Senator Mike Folmer is out of prison, but must keep registering as a sex offender". The Patriot-News. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
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