In a surprising twist, state House District 24 has a new representative. La'Tasha D. Mayes won Tuesday night's election with more than 46% of the votes, defeating incumbent Rep. Martell Covington.
Mayes said the win makes her the first openly LGBTQ person to represent the district in the general assembly. District 24 covers majority-Black neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and includes Homewood, Garfield, Highland Park and Friendship.
"I'm ecstatic, overjoyed," she said. "I believe that all things are possible, and Pittsburgh proved that tonight. I said it's OK to talk about reproductive justice, and we proved that tonight."
Mayes, a longtime activist for reproductive rights and racial equity, co-founded and led New Voices for Reproductive Justice, which advocates for women and LGBT people of color. Now, she said she is prepared to fight for reproductive rights, health care access, voting rights, LGBTQ rights and equitable education.
"This is one district, one destiny and I'm excited to serve as state rep for the House District 24," she said. "I look forward to meeting everyone."
Mayes said she ran for the seat "to disrupt politics as usual."
"I'm running to advance racial gender and economics, community safety, environmental justice, education rights," she said. "For me, it’s important that the next representative represents the district in the most progressive way."
"For me as a Black lesbian who has faced discrimination in the workplace and experienced threats of violence, I want to make sure that we have basic protections for LGBT folks," she added.
Mayes ran for the seat previously held by Ed Gainey before his successful run to become Pittsburgh's first Black mayor.
Gainey’s departure created a special-election opportunity in April for Covington to fill the remainder of Gainey's term, but Mayes will fill the full term that starts next year.
Covington has served in Harrisburg for only a couple of weeks, but he said he has learned during that time that "there's a lot to learn" when it comes to state government — which is why he wants to continue on the path he's started. At 34, Covington was one of the youngest candidates in the area on the primary ballot. He said his focus right now is on public safety.
"I lost my nephew in December 2020, a young man I mentored was killed, and another was killed on Frankstown [Avenue] in broad daylight," Covington said. "I’ve had numerous experiences."
19th State House District
In the 19th District, Aerion Abney will hold the seat to which he was elected in the April special election to replace Jake Wheatley, who joined Gainey's administration.
After running against Wheatley multiple times, Abney finally got his break this year. He, too, has been in the seat only since April, but he said the win Tuesday feels "indicative of the work we put into the campaign."
"The votes show the effort we put into this," he said in an interview.
Abney represents neighborhoods that include the Hill District, Beltzhoover, Hazelwood, Downtown, and Allentown. As the state prepares for budget season, he said, he will "be there fighting to prioritize things like education, infrastructure, and access to jobs."
"And once we get past that, we'll look into what we can get at, like gun safety and other issues," he said.
Abney said he also plans to put forward his own legislation, including a bill to create a criminal justice data collection program.
"It would require our criminal justice institutions — police, courts, jails — to collect data and share it with the state department," he said. "Data that when anybody who interacts with the criminal justice system, it collects info like race, age, so that we can have reports on an annual basis that ... can show if there are disparities in how the criminal justice system treats people. Those reports will be [compiled] on an annual basis."
Abney also said he would "do what is best for the neighborhoods" when it comes to new housing development. If developers come to the state for resources, he said he will first ensure that the new projects are supported by the community.
"One of the biggest things folks are dealing with across the district — and it’s a very diverse district — a common theme is housing and having people be able to afford buying a house or renting in the district," he said. "Not feeling like they are getting pushed out. People are really concerned about being able to live in the district."
Abney was challenged by the Rev. Glenn Grayson, who received 35% of the votes. The pastor of Wesley Center A.M.E Zion Church, Grayson has been long involved in community efforts, including anti-violence initiatives after he lost a son in a random act of gun violence.
