Lower Merion resident, Bruce Kauffman, died on November 29, at the age of 86. In 1998 he was appointed as a Federal District Court Judge, on the recommendation of Arlen Specter, who at that time was still a Republican.
In 1979, Kauffman ran for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but lost to John Flaherty, who cross-filed and won both the Republican and Democratic primaries. In 1980, Governor Dick Thornberg nominated him to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to complete the term of Louis Manderino, who died in November of 1979.
To stay on the Supreme Court, Kauffman would have had to run and win an election in 1981. However, after the Democratic State Committee refused to endorse him, Kauffman chose not to run.
Ran for State Rep. in Lower Merion at the age of 31
In 1966, Kauffman ran unsuccessfully for State Representative, in Lower Merion – an election that was possibly the most contentious primary in the township’s history – for either party.
Kauffman was part of a slate that included John Lafore, who was running for Congress, and Bob Johnson, who was running for re-election to the State Senate. And there were even numerous contested Committee races at the precinct level.
Kauffman wound up losing to Richard (Dick Tilghman), who later served many years in the State Senate. Johnson lost to Lawrence (Larry Coughlin), who two years later “stepped up” and became a U.S. Congressman, a position he held until 1993. Lafore failed in his bid to regain the U.S. House seat that he had lost in 1960 to Richard (Dick) Schweiker. Schweiker also “stepped up” in 1968 and became a U.S. Senator. He served two terms in the Senate, and later served two years as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.