Throughout the month of August, we are taking a closer look at the members of the House and Senate who will no longer be serving at the end of this term. In all, six Senators and 23 House members are moving on. Each have made his or her own contributions and will have an impact on both the politics and policies in Pennsylvania.

Today, we start with Rep. James Clay (D-Philadelphia). Known to friends as “Scoot,” Rep. Clay was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2012. In addition to serving on the Urban Affairs Committee as the Democratic Secretary, Rep. Clay was also a member of the Health and Education Committees.

Clay has had a strong civic presence in the 179th district, where he was born and raised. Last spring, Jason Dawkins challenged Rep. Clay in the primary, and Dawkins emerged the winner.

A former Philadelphia Parking Authority employee, Rep. Clay lives with his wife and four children in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia. For more information on Rep. Clay, see: http://www.pahouse.com/Clay/?pg=bio

Rep. Gordon Denlinger (R-Lancaster) will retire at the end of this session. He has represented the 99th district since 2003. Rep. Denlinger has served on the Agriculture, Finance and Tourism Committees, and he has put his background as a certified public accountant to good use as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy for the Appropriations Committee. Denlinger had a primary face-off with fellow Republican Rep. Ryan Aument for the chance to run for the Senate’s 36th Senate District. Aument emerged the victor.

After his graduation from Bob Jones University but prior to taking office, Rep. Denlinger served as controller and assistant controller of several Pennsylvania’s largest in-state corporations. A father of four, Rep. Denlinger resides in Narvon with his wife. To read more about Rep. Denlinger, see: http://www.repdenlinger.com/bio.aspx

We’ll have more tributes to the legislators who are moving on soon. Feel free to post a comment and continue watching this blog and our Twitter feed over the next few weeks.