Biography

10/15/1936 -

Franklin Leo Kury (D27) Columbia, Juniata, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union Counties 1973-1980 

Early Life: 

Franklin Leo Kury born Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1936; son of Barney and Helen C. Witkowski Kury; Sunbury High School, 1954; Trinity College, Phi Beta Kappa, A.B., 1958;  University of Pennsylvania Law School, LL.B., 1961; United States Army; United States Army Reserves; attorney; staff assistant, Governor George M. Leader; state co-chair Students for Kennedy-Johnson, 1960; deputy attorney general, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, 1962; congressional aide, United States Representative Honorable George M. Rhodes, 1963-1966; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1967-1972; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1973-1980; not a candidate for reelection, 1980; unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, 1996; partner, Reed Smith LLP, 1983-2003; Malady & Wooten, 2004-present; married Elizabeth Heazlett, sons Steven, David and James; author; guest lecturer.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Kury and Kury Law firm; county and national bar associations; member, Polish National Alliance.

Authored:

Kury, Franklin L.  Clean Politics, Clean Streams:  A Legislative Autobiography and Reflections. Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University Press, 2011.

Kury, Franklin L.  Why Are You Here?  A Primer for Legislators and Citizens.  Janham, MD: The University Press of America, 2014 
 
Kury, Franklin L.  Gerrymandering: A Guide to Congressional Redistricting, Dark Money, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Hamilton Books Publishing Company, 2018

Kury, Franklin L.  The Constitutional Question to Save The Planet: The Peoples' Right to a Healthy Environment.  Environmental Law Institute: Washington DC, 2021.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1967-1972.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate 27th district, Columbia, Juniata, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union Counties, 1973-1980; not a candidate for reelection, (1980); committee assignments, Environmental Resources, Local Government, Rules and Executive Nomination.

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, 1996.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Legacy:

August 26, 2021, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources honored former State Senator Franklin Kury by unveiling The Kury Point, where the North and West Branch of the Susquehanna River joins in Sunbury. If you did not know, former State Senator Kury was responsible for authoring the constitutional amendment in 1971 that added Section 27 of Article 1 to the State Constitution. Most notably, the constitutional amendment outlined the rights provided to Commonwealth citizens regarding the state's natural resources, in addition to the Commonwealth's responsibility for maintaining them. 

The Constitution of Pennsylvania  

        § 27.  Natural resources and the public estate.

        The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the      Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people. (May 18, 1971, P.L.769, J.R.3) 1971 Amendment.  Joint Resolution No.3 added section 27.

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members K". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives, Harrisburg Papers of Franklin L. Kury, 1965-1997.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives, Harrisburg Papers of Franklin L. Kury, 1967-1972.

Ackley, G.; (Editor). Arcuri, P.; (Editor). (1979). The Pennsylvania manual, 104. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 85, 86 Biographies of Members of the Senate, page 68.