Morabito to seek Pa. House seat

ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. — Bob Morabito, a high school teacher and retired Navy commander, will challenge freshman state Rep. Jaret Gibbons of Ellwood City, D-10th, next year for the right to represent portions of Lawrence, Beaver and Butler counties in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Morabito, 54, will seek the Republican nomination in the spring.

He attended Lafayette College and during his naval career, Morabito deployed to the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans and participated in numerous drug-enforcement cruises in the Caribbean. From 1995 to 1998, he was the Navy’s lead negotiator for maritime issues with the Chinese Navy, Korean Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force. He also served as a professor of Strategy and Policy at the United States Naval War College, from which he earned a master’s degree in national security.

In his present role, Morabito mentors Penn Hills High School students as the program director of the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

Morabito also serves as a member of the Ellwood City Planning Commission, the Ellwood City Crime Watch Committee, American Legion Post 157, Sons of Italy Lodge 608 and Wolves Club Den II. He resides in Ellwood City with his wife, Cindy. The Morabitos have two adult daughters and two grandchildren.