Representative James Leo Nelligan

James Leo Nelligan (born February 14, 1929) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served one term in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Pennsylvania’s 11th congressional district from 1981 to 1983, participating in the legislative process during a significant period in American history and representing the interests of his constituents in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Nelligan was born in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. He attended James M. Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre, from which he graduated in 1946. He went on to study at King’s College, also in Wilkes-Barre, earning his degree in 1951. Following his formal education, he served in the United States Army and subsequently worked as an accountant, beginning a long career in public service and government administration.

From 1951 to 1967, Nelligan was a staff member of the United States Government Accountability Office (then the General Accounting Office) in Washington, D.C., where he gained extensive experience in federal oversight and financial management. He then joined the staff of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Operations, serving there from 1967 to 1970. In this role, he was involved in examining the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs and agencies, further deepening his expertise in governmental operations.

In 1970, Nelligan became director of the Finance and Grants Management Division of the Office of Economic Opportunity, a key agency in administering federal anti-poverty programs, and he served in that capacity until 1973. He then moved to the General Services Administration, where from 1973 to 1975 he served as director of the Office of Property Management in the Office of Federal Management Policy, overseeing aspects of federal property and asset management. From 1975 to 1979, he was operations director for the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, a position that placed him at the center of congressional oversight of regulatory and commercial matters.

Nelligan was elected as a Republican to the 97th United States Congress in the 1980 election, taking office on January 3, 1981, as the representative of Pennsylvania’s 11th congressional district. His single term in Congress, which lasted until January 3, 1983, coincided with the early years of the Reagan administration, a period marked by significant debates over federal spending, regulation, and economic policy. As a member of the Republican Party representing Pennsylvania, he contributed to the legislative process during his one term in office, participating in the democratic process and advocating for the interests of his district. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1982.

After leaving Congress, Nelligan continued his involvement in public service at the state level. From 1983 to 1985, he served as Deputy Secretary of Revenue for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, applying his long experience in federal oversight and financial management to state revenue administration. Remaining active in local politics, he sought elective office again in Luzerne County. In 1991, he ran for a seat on the Luzerne County Board of Commissioners on a ticket with incumbent commissioner James Phillips. While Phillips won reelection, Nelligan was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid for the county commission.

In his personal life, Nelligan married Patricia Ellen Brinkworth on May 14, 1960, at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo, New York. The couple later divorced in June 1968. He subsequently married Jean K. Kessler. Jean Nelligan died on February 18, 2014, from injuries sustained in a car crash that had occurred the previous day, February 17, 2014.