What’s at stake: District 32 is dominated by Penn Hills and includes Oakmont, Verona and parts of Plum. For the past 40 years, its residents have voted solidly Democratic. State Rep. Tony DeLuca, who previously held the seat, was reelected in 2022 — despite the fact that he died the month before. (It was too late for ballots to be reprinted.) Democrats chose Joe McAndrew as their nominee to run in a special election, in which he beat his Republican opponent handily. But the April primary will mark the first time Democratic voters will weigh in on DeLuca’s replacement. The incumbent McAndrew will try to fend off a challenge from Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese, who was among the candidates to seek the party nomination last year.
District map:
Pauline Calabrese
Calabrese points to her work as mayor of Penn Hills as a role that prepared her for legislating in the state House. During her tenure as mayor, she says, she’s improved the municipality’s finances and infrastructure, and brought the police department to full staffing — and that the state House is a logical next step. Calabrese came in second to McAndrew in the ranked-choice voting process used by Allegheny County Democratic Party leaders to select their nominee to replace the late DeLuca in the state House.
Party: Democratic
Place of residence: Penn Hills
Education: B.A., Pennsylvania State University, J.D., Duquesne University School of Law
Current occupation: Mayor of Penn Hills, attorney
Related experience: Five years as mayor of Penn Hills, attorney
Supporters/endorsements: Supporters include Pennsylvania Laborers' District Council, Boilermakers Local 154 and Steamfitters Local 449
Links: Website | Facebook | Instagram
Total fundraising (as of 4/8/24):
Total raised (2024): $26,153.42 (plus $10,511.50 from previous campaigns)
Total spent (2024): $28,992.91
Further reading: “Penn Hills mayor seeks Democratic nomination for DeLuca's former house seat” (Jack Troy, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
WESA Candidate Survey
What should be the state legislature's top priority in the next term, and how would you address it?
As the mother of five and the Mayor of Penn Hills, which is the second largest municipality in Allegheny County, with a School District suffering at the hands of an antiquated funding system and an inequitable funding formula, I believe that the top priority for the state legislature should be reworking the formula and funding of public schools and the cost of higher education.
Pennsylvania's system for funding public education has been found to violate the state's constitution, and there are perennial complaints about school district property taxes. What approaches do you favor to address those concerns, and what changes, if any, should be made to funding for alternatives to traditional public schools, such as charters and private schools?
I believe that the finding by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania demands that there be a complete overhaul in the way public education is funded. First and foremost, relying on property taxes as the only revenue stream is, in my opinion, fundamentally unfair. It is an unfair burden on the backs of seniors and others on fixed incomes and it disproportionately negatively affects poor children who live in areas with lower home values. While I recognize that there needs to be an alternative available for some families, the current charter school funding formula is lopsided and out of whack.
This year, the governor is pressing to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, an issue that may well still be on the table when the winners of this year's election take office. Are you in support of legalization, and if so, who should be allowed to sell marijuana?
Pennsylvania must catch up with other jurisdictions in the legalization of marijuana. I am in favor of private individuals and/or private entities selling legalized marijuana, with common sense regulation in place.
Pennsylvania's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate compact to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, is tied up in court and opposed by many in the energy sector. Should the state participate in RGGI going forward? And what other legislative or regulatory steps, if any, do you support to limit those emissions?
It is a worthy goal to reach zero-carbon emissions in our lifetime, but it is important to do it in a way that balances our need for a greener planet with the necessity of maintaining family-sustaining jobs for the workers in the energy sector of our economy. Jumping into RGGI as it is currently drafted, is not the answer at this time. I prefer taking an “all of the above” approach on energy technologies as we transition to a green energy economy that brings workers along with secure jobs and wages matching what energy sector jobs pay now.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, there have been discussions both about limiting abortion access and expanding it. What changes, if any, would you favor to the state's current abortion laws?
In our Commonwealth, abortion is still regulated by the Abortion Control Act in the Pennsylvania criminal code. Abortion is not a crime and that needs to be fixed. Rather, it is an element of women’s healthcare and no government at any level should interfere with a woman’s personal healthcare choices. Our legislature needs to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade and reevaluate some of the restrictions passed in Pennsylvania after the Casey v. Planned Parenthood decision in 1982.
Joe McAndrew
McAndrew has long been an active presence in the local Democratic party. The incumbent got into office in part by promising to help the party advance a more worker-friendly and progressive agenda. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Oakmont in 2017, but he went on to become the executive director for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, where he handled day-to-day administrative tasks. He is the former chair of the Penn Hills Democratic Committee.
Party: Democratic
Place of residence: Penn Hills
Education: University of Dayton
Current occupation: State representative for District 32
Related experience: Former executive director for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee; former chair of the Penn Hills Democratic Committee; former staffer for U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio and State Rep. Frank Dermody; Penn Hills Planning Commission
Supporters/endorsements: Allegheny County Democratic Committee, Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council, Planned Parenthood, Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers
Links: Website | Facebook | X
Total fundraising (as of 4/8/24):
Total raised (2024): $54,309 (2023 ending cash balance: $41,354.25)
Total spent (2024): $40,967.67
WESA Candidate Survey
What should be the state legislature's top priority in the next term, and how would you address it?
There are so many high priorities in the Commonwealth, but I will focus on two areas specifically. We must find a way to increase funding to our Public Transportation Systems, and increase funding for our Early Childhood programs such as Pre-K counts, among others.
Pennslyvania's system for funding public education has been found to violate the state's constitution, and there are perennial complaints about school district property taxes. What approaches do you favor to address those concerns, and what changes, if any, should be made to funding for alternatives to traditional public schools, such as charters and private schools?
While Republicans in the PA Senate keep digging their heads in the sand, ignoring the Supreme Court decision referenced here, House Democrats have been working hard to find a solution to this issue. I believe our policy to be sound and you will see a strong push for equitable funding of our education system in the upcoming budget. In terms of charter schools, we are seeing too many cracks in the system while PA taxpayers are being burdened with 2 school systems, the madness of funding charter schools, and expanding EITC funding at such levels must end.
This year, the governor is pressing to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, an issue that may well still be on the table when the winners of this year's election take office. Are you in support of legalization, and if so, who should be allowed to sell marijuana?
I am a member of the Cannabis Caucus in Harrisburg and am supportive of legalizing adult-use marijuana. We have learned from our experiences rolling out medical marijuana and I believe the state will role out a more equitable system for distributing and selling adult-use marijuana when it is legalized.
Pennsylvania's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate compact to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, is tied up in court and opposed by many in the energy sector. Should the state participate in RGGI going forward? And what other legislative or regulatory steps, if any, do you support to limit those emissions?
I believe that we must diversify our grid utilizing renewable energy sources. We cannot rely on natural gas as the sole source for our energy, it is just too expensive. When the price of natural gas goes up, our bills go up, and there's no real alternative at the moment. We must support diversifying our grid by allowing for community solar and solar for schools and more renewable energy initiatives, but the burden of RGGI in a state that needs to be competitive in the PJM, may not be the best route to take to see the lowering of costs that Pennsylvanians need.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, there have been discussions both about limiting abortion access and expanding it. What changes, if any, would you favor to the state's current abortion laws?
Endorsed by Planned Parenthood, this year I voted to support several efforts to expand our protections for women seeking abortion. I supported protections for women coming to the state from being prosecuted across state lines for example. I have not recently changed my opinion on this, like some. I have held this belief for years and as we see this debate continue to arise time and time again in our legislature, I for one will be standing by the side of the women of Pennsylvania, to protect and expand their access to abortion.
