Two weeks after being sworn into to a new political office, Chelsa Wagner (D-Brookline), who represented the 22nd state legislative district, has stepped down to focus on her role as Allegheny County Controller.
Wagner won the Controller race by a landslide in November and was sworn in on Jan. 1. She also maintained her position in the state House. She was roundly critized for having poor voting attendance in Harrisburg. The mised voters were atributed to her campaigning for controller and the demands of her second pregnancy, for which she is about three weeks from her due date.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Wagner was marked "excused" for 26 of 80 votes on session days. The next closest legislator from the region missed eight such days.
Wagner said she kept her seat to ensure that her constituents (Brookline, Beechview, Mt. Washington, Duquesne Heights, Overbrook, Manchester, Sheraden, Esplen, Baldwin Township, Castle Shannon and Whitehall) would be accounted for considering the reapportionment of the state's legislative districts has moved the 22nd district to Allentown in the Lehigh Valley. Constituents from her former district are now divided among five districts under the new legislative map presented Dec. 12.
