Chester County Entrepreneur Is Running For 6th Congressional District

WEST CHESTER —Steve Fanelli, a husband, father and entrepreneur, hopes to bring his passion, energy and drive to Congress to serve the residents of Chester and Berks counties.

Fanelli, 60, of West Chester, is seeking the Republican nomination for 6th Congressional District, which covers all of Chester County and southeastern Berks County.

He is one of four Republican candidates hoping to unseat Democrat Chrissy Houlahan, who was elected in 2018, and took office in 2019.

The others are Regina Mauro, 57, Devon; Ron Vogel, 36, Chester Springs; and Guy Ciarrocchi, 57, Tredyffrin Township.

Houlahan, an Air Force veteran, is running unopposed.

Fanelli believes in family, working hard and giving back to his community. Fanelli graduated from Villanova University with a degree in accounting.

Fanelli said one of his greatest achievements was to grow his company workforce from a close-knit group of three employees in an outdoor fencing company to a team of more than 30 professionals serving customers along eastern United States.

A champion lacrosse player, Fanelli volunteered as a coach, board member of West Chester Youth Lacrosse, and mentor to hundreds of young athletes in the last two decades. He was instrumental in growing the program from 175 participants to more than 965 boys and girls in 2020.

He also volunteered at Thorncroft, a world-renowned equestrian center in Malvern.

“I am a strong conservative, but first and foremost, I am an American,” Fanelli wrote on his campaign website. “I am a firm supporter of common sense conservative solutions, small government and freedom.”

If elected, Fanelli’s goals are to strengthen the economy by modernizing supply chains, ports and cyber capabilities and with restoring energy independence.

Fanelli hopes to secure the United States’ border and improve the legal immigration process.