State Rep. Adam Ravenstahl challenged by progressive attorney Emily Kinkead

Pittsburgh attorney Emily Kinkead will join a wave of progressive Democrats who in recent years have challenged establishment incumbents in Allegheny County’s Democratic Party.

Kinkead will take on sitting state Rep. Adam Ravenstahl for the District 20 seat in the April 28 Democratic primary.

Ravenstahl, the brother of former Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, has held the seat since 2010.

“I think people are looking for a change,” said Kinkead, 32, of Brighton Heights.

Ravenstahl said he’s not surprised to have a challenger, especially given the apparent push to take out establishment candidates.

“That kind of comes with the territory,” he said. “But I’m proud of my family’s history in public service.”

Kinkead follows Rep. Summer Lee, D-Braddock, and Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-Lawrenceville, who have emerged as the faces of the new guard. During the 2018 primary, Lee beat former state representative Paul Costa, a Democrat from Wilkins, for the District 34 seat he held since 1999. Innamorato beat Costa’s cousin, Dom Costa, in the same race for the District 21 seat he held since 2009.

“I’m definitely in that vein, but I’m also not a carbon copy because the district I represent is different from the districts they represent,” Kinkead said, adding that the North Side is more progressive than people give it credit for.

District 20 covers several Pittsburgh neighborhoods — including Brighton Heights, City View, Lawrenceville, Northview Heights, Observatory Hill, Polish Hill, the Strip District, Spring Garden, Spring Hill, Summer Hill and Troy Hill — as well as Avalon, Bellevue, Ross and West View boroughs.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that the Democratic Party, in my opinion, is moving a little farther to the left,” Ravenstahl said.

He rebuffed critiques that he does not spend enough time in the district.

“I’ll treat this opponent as I’ve treated any of them and just talk about what I’ve been able to do,” he said.

Advancing legislation as a member of the minority party in Harrisburg has been a challenge, Ravenstahl said. But he’s proud to have been part of efforts to restore cuts to education spending, modernizing the liquor system and legalizing medical marijuana.

“I’d like to see some action on increasing the minimum wage,” he said, adding investments in local infrastructure, landslide repairs and transportation to the list issues he plans to work on if elected to another term.

Ravenstahl was last challenged in the 2018 primary by DJ and community organizer Michael Devine, beating him with 60% of the vote.

Kinkead’s first priority if elected to the office will be to bring resources back to the district that will foster responsible development, “but not in a way that makes it unaffordable for us to live here,” she said.

Neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and the Strip District have already experienced development that has made it too expensive for some residents to live or shop there. Kinkead said she wants to bring relief to residents in those neighborhoods while making sure the same type of development doesn’t price residents on the North Side out of their neighborhoods, she said.

Protections for reproductive rights, LGBTQIA+ rights as well as air and water quality are also among her top priorities, she said.

“It’s time for new leadership,” said Kinkead, who in addition to her work as a private practice attorney has been involved in advocacy work related to gerrymandering, campaign finance reform, disability rights and criminal justice. “It’s time for someone who has different experience. That’s what the North Side is looking for.”

Kinkead has already been endorsed by Allegheny County Council at-large representative Bethany Hallam, a Democrat from Ross who upset the party when she beat 20-year incumbent John DeFazio, D-Shaler. Fellow progressive Democrat and newcomer to county council Olivia Bennett, of Northview Heights, also endorsed Kinkead.

Both Hallam and Bennett ran on progressive platforms that focused on issues like equitable development and environmental protections, and both were backed by Lee’s political action committee UNITE.