Description of office: The General Assembly is the legislative branch of government in Pennsylvania. It is composed of two houses: the Senate is the upper house, and the House of Representatives is the lower house. A majority vote in both houses is necessary to pass a law. The PA House of Representatives consists of 203 members representing one district each, with an equal number of constituents. Representatives must be at least 21 years old, have been a citizen and a resident of the state four years and a resident of their respective districts one year before their election, and shall reside in their respective districts during their terms of service. The House develops budget packages, makes taxation decisions, allocates spending, and passes laws (including redistricting in collaboration with the Senate). The House also has the exclusive authority to impeach public officials. Representatives also serve on various policy committees that may propose legislation.Term: 2 yearsSalary: $113,591Vote for ONE.Note: On Democratic and Republican primary ballots, voters will also choose members of the State and County Committees. We do not list these candidates on Vote411. For information on these candidates, we suggest you contact your local Democratic or Republican Party committee.
County
Allegheny
Occupation
State Representative
Education
University of Pittsburgh, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 2003; Carnegie Mellon University, Master of Science in Public Policy and Management, 2005; University of Pennsylvania, Executive Program for Social Impact Strategy Certificate, 2019
Qualifications
I am currently State Representative and in my fourth year in office. I am a Member of the Appropriations, Judiciary, Health, Housing and Human Services Committees. I am Co-Chair of the PA Black Maternal Health Caucus and I just passed the PA CROWN Act into law to end race-based hair discrimination.
The most pressing issue in my district is the rising costs of rent, food, gas, childcare, and health care and this financial strain is pushing Pittsburghers to the brink. Working class people and the working poor are barely able to make ends meet. It is time to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. While the Democratic majority passed legislation to increase the minimum wage last week, the Republican-controlled Senate has neglected its duty to raise the wage for the people of Pennsylvania. Every surrounding state has a higher minimum wage. A $15 minimum wage tied to inflation makes our region and the 24th Legislative District more affordable. This is the baseline to bring economic relief and human dignity to Pennsylvanians.
Our democracy is in peril, and we are fortunate to live in Pennsylvania where our elections are fair, safe, and accessible. All of this can change in the blink of an election. While Pennsylvania has continued to expand ways for citizens to exercise the right to vote from mail-in voting, online registration, drop boxes, language access, to prohibiting voter intimidation, the Trump administration continues to decimate voting rights by changing the timing on postmark dates, to the SAVE America Act which will disenfranchise millions of voters especially women and to the most recent executive order to restrict mail-in voting. I support the K. Leroy Irvis Voting Protection Act and increases in the state budget to resource county election boards.
The state budget process is painful for Pennsylvania. The partisan politics continue to derail the process of meeting our constitutional duty to pass our budget by June 30th of each year. As an Appropriations Committee Member, I have had a closer view on how this process unfolds and while frustrating for the public and legislators alike, the delay is in the fight to win as much as possible for Pennsylvanians from maintaining access to health care including the greatest investments in maternal health to our state legislature equitably funding public education to continuing to increase state funding and financial options for affordable housing creation. Financial penalties for legislators are the most likely strategy to pass a timely budget.
Data centers must be regulated. Strong state regulations which I have already supported are required to protect our communities and environment. My district is home to tech companies such as Duolingo and Google and part of Penn Avenue has been designated "AI Avenue." AI is undeniably here, however, the data centers driving this technical advancement drains water supply and strain the electrical grid, causing environmental harm through air and noise pollution. Municipalities should maintain their authority to establish ordinances, and we should still be doing all we can to regulate data centers at the state-level. I want to note that building data centers in my district would be challenging due to urban density, but we must remain vigilant.
County
Allegheny
Occupation
Auto Body Shop owner
Education
Penn State University
Qualifications
Community Activist,Chair Allegheny County Democratic Black Caucus,Chief of Staff Democratic National Committee Black Caucus member B-pep,Fair Districts Pa,Cease Fire Pa,Moms Demand Action, Pittsburgh United,Our Water Table, Pittsburghergers for Public Transit ,
Affordable housing, criminal justice reform, Income disparity, Education .
First I would invest in the housing stock we already have to create true affordable housing and home ownership to return these thousands of properties to the tax roles while creating programs to train our people in skill trades and entrepreneurship while properly funding education so our kids get a quality education not determined by the zip code they live ,while raising the minimum wage to a living wage that keeps up with the cost of living.Also writing and passing legislation that ends mandatory minimum sentencing and makes judges unable to hold a defendant in jail on detainers for a long period of time which often clogs up the jail and has most in jail longer .
I believe our elections are secure I would support more early voting,more satellite voting places and earlier notification of polling places by the election department and better advertising when a polling place has been moved as well as a unified voting system and process for all 67 counties there should be different ways to vote in every counting we need one statewide system that is verified and unified.i be
I believe the biggest thing that would ensure the budget is passed efficiently and on time is if lawmakers were not paid or permitted to leave Harrisburg until the budget is passed .
Yes I believe it is the duty of the Legislator to set rules on where these days centers can be put as well as regulate the way they are built and the impact on not only the environment but the communities they are built in to encourage true community benefit agreements with an enforcement clause that holds companies accountable to the tax payers.this would not interfere but give municipalities reinforcement and more leverage to hold companies accountable for their actions
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