Harry Readshaw Politician

Harry A. Readshaw III is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 36th District and was elected in 1994. He and his wife live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and have three children. He graduated from Carrick High School in 1959 and attended Duquesne University from 1959 to 1962. He graduated from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science in 1962. Prior to elective office, he served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and in the Carrick Community Council. He has been a funeral director since 1970.On May 4, 2010, Rep. Readshaw and Republican Rep. Daryl Metcalfe introduced House Bill 2479, a bill which would direct police officers "to attempt to verify the immigration status of suspected illegal aliens." It would also create a new third-degree misdemeanor "for illegal aliens who violate federal law by either willfully failing to register as an alien or failing to possess proper proof of such registration when stopped for another primary offense, such as a traffic violation", crack down on employers who hire illegal aliens without first checking to see if they had registration papers and are in the state legally, create a new third-class felony "for intentionally smuggling illegal aliens (into the state) for profit," and allow police officers to "impound any vehicle driven by an illegal alien or used to transport illegal aliens." The proposed law is based on Arizona's controversial Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB 1070), which was passed in April 2010.In 2011, Readshaw considered purchasing the Wigman House adjacent to his funeral home in Carrick, hoping to turn it into a parking lot. That move set off controversy among the local historic preservation community, who called the American Queen Anne-style Wigman House "the last remaining example of several homes of the wealthy South Side gentry who lived in Carrick." The controversy culminated in the building being protected with a City of Pittsburgh historic designation.