| Michael Zabel | |
| State House: | Pennsylvania |
| District: | 163rd |
| Predecessor: | Jamie Santora |
| Successor: | Heather Boyd |
| Birth Date: | 16 January 1979 |
| Birth Place: | Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Alma Mater: | St. Joseph's Preparatory School |
| Education: | College of the Holy Cross (BA) University of Indiana (MA) Temple University (JD) |
| Spouse: | Lauren |
| Children: | 2 |
Michael Patrick Zabel[1] (born January 16, 1979) is an American politician. He served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 163rd district from 2019 to 2023.
Zabel was born on January 16, 1979 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He grew up as the oldest of six children in Havertown. Zabel graduated from St. Joseph's Preparatory School in 1996. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from College of the Holy Cross in 2000 and a Master of Arts degree in the classics from the University of Indiana in 2003. Zabel earned his Juris Doctor from Temple University in 2010.[2]
In 2018, Zabel, a first-time candidate and former assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, defeated Republican incumbent Jamie Santora to represent the 163rd district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Zabel's victory marked the first time a Democrat represented the seat in 40 years.[3] He would be re-elected twice.
In March 2023, a union lobbyist's accusations of Zabel sexually harassing her in 2019 were made public.[4] After the first accusation, two more allegations emerged against Zabel. Previously in 2018, Zabel's campaign manager accused him of inappropriately touching her. At the time, she reported it to an unnamed Democratic Party leader, but had not gone public. The same day the campaign manager's allegations were made public, State Representative Abby Major also said she was followed to her car by an intoxicated Zabel after rejecting his advances in November 2022.[5] Zabel initially resisted calls to resign because of the allegations and said he would seek treatment for his "illness."[6] He later reversed his earlier statement and announced he would resign from office effective March 16, 2023.[7]
He is married to his wife Lauren and has two children.[8] They live in the Drexel Hill neighborhood of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania.