Representative Ryan Bizzarro Contact information

Ryan A. Bizzarro is an award-winning legislator who was sworn in on January 1, 2013, to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He proudly represents the 3rd Legislative District in Erie County. Born on November 13, 1985, Bizzarro is a lifelong resident of Erie, Pennsylvania.

From a young age, Bizzarro developed a strong work ethic while serving at his grandfather’s restaurant, The Ringside. He is also a survivor of childhood leukemia. After graduating from McDowell High School in 2004, he went on to receive degrees in political science and criminal justice from Edinboro University in 2008. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Gannon University.

Before embarking on his political career, Bizzarro served Erie County as a victim/witness coordinator and advocate for the Office of the Erie County District Attorney and the Crime Victim Center. He also worked as a behavioral health specialist at McKinley Elementary School and in business development for the Erie County Convention Center Authority.

Bizzarro was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2012, defeating Republican attorney Jason Owen. He was sworn in on January 1, 2013. His district is located in Erie County and includes the townships of Millcreek and Fairview.

Bizzarro was appointed to the House Democratic Leadership team for the 2021-22 Legislative Session, helping guide the caucus to its first return to the majority in more than a decade following the 2022 election cycle. After more than a decade in the minority, the House Democratic Caucus held a tenous 102-101 majority in 2023, but it has responded by passing more than 150 bills during its first six months in the majority.

As the House Democratic Policy Committee Chairman, Bizzarro has traveled across the state with the committee, raising awareness on big-topic issues and emerging concerns. He created subcommittees - Progressive Policies for Working People and Labor, Energy and Development - to help examine more issues. Under Bizzarro’s leadership, he conducted the first Bipartisan Policy Committee hearing in recent history.

In 2022, City & State named him to PA’s 2022 Pennsylvania Forty Under 40, a list detailing Pennsylvania’s difference makers and leaders. He secured more than $300,000 for his local police department and his local fire department to purchase vehicles designed to help save lives of residents, law enforcement and firefighters. In 2022, he also introduced his Beagle Bills, to help end needless animal testing and cruelty. He helped drive awareness for the legislation by hosting a reunion of some of the 50 beagles an Erie animal shelter, ANNA, helped find homes for following the seizure of nearly 4,000 beagles from a testing facility in Virginia.