Aerion Andrew Abney is an American politician has served in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

since 2022. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he represents the 19th district, which contains parts of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Before his election to the state legislature, Abney was a social worker and community activist involved in local politics. He twice ran unsuccessfully to unseat incumbent state representative

Jake Wheatley Jake Wheatley Jr. is an American politician who served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 19th district, covering the Hill District, North Side, South Side, Allentown, Hazelwood, Downtown Pittsburgh, The Bluff, ...

. When Wheatley resigned in 2022 to become chief of staff to Pittsburgh's newly-elected mayor

Ed Gainey Edward C. Gainey (born February 19, 1970) is an American politician who is the 61st mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previously, he served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 24th district. In November 2021, Gaine ...

, Abney won the special election to succeed him.

Early life and education

Abney was raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and attended

Cardinal O'Hara High School Cardinal O'Hara High School is a coeducational Catholic high school of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school is named after John Francis O'Hara who was Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1951 to 1960. It is located in Spring ...

. He then attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

in 2010 and a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social wor ...

degree from the university's

School of Social Work A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

in 2012.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives (2022–present)

Elections

2016

Abney first ran for the 19th district seat in the

in 2016, but he withdrew before facing incumbent Rep.

in the primary.

2018

In 2018, Abney ran against Wheatley, who had held the seat since 2003. He criticized Wheatley for a lack of "political will" to push for the construction of new affordable housing units, especially in the

Hill District The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major cent ...

, a historically African-American neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He lost the Democratic primary to Wheatley by a margin of 367 votes out of 5,777 total votes, or about 6 percentage points.

2020

In 2020, Abney ran in a rematch against Wheatley. Abney campaigned on the promise that he would advocate more strongly for the residents of the

. He pointed to various statistics showing a decline in quality of life for residents of the Hill despite Wheatley's efforts. Indeed, the neighborhood had been a

food desert Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...

since 2018, when its only grocery store had closed after just five years of operation; the store had received incentives upon opening in 2013 from the state's Fresh Food Financing Initiative targeting food deserts. Abney was again defeated, this time by a margin of 2,501 votes out of 10,467 total votes, or about 24 percentage points.

2022 (special)

In 2022, Abney was widely expected to challenge Wheatley yet again. However, Wheatley resigned on January 31, 2022, midway through his 10th term, to become chief of staff to

, who was elected

mayor of Pittsburgh The mayor of Pittsburgh is the chief executive of the government of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Pittsburgh. This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Pittsburgh. ...

in 2021. In the special election to succeed him, Abney won the Democratic nomination on February 10 by a vote of local Democratic committee members; he tied Rev. Glenn Grayson in the balloting with each receiving the support of 55 members, so the nomination was decided by drawing lots. Abney ran unopposed in the special general election on April 5; he received 2,643 votes, or about 87% of the total with the remaining votes scattered among write-in candidates. Following his victory, he will be sworn in to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to finish Wheatley's term.

2022 (regular)

In the regular Democratic primary on May 17 for the next two-year term, Abney will face Rev. Glenn Grayson in a rematch.

Committee assignments

Aging & Older Adult Services Subcommittee on Care and Services Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services - Chair Committee On Committees Education Housing & Community Development Insurance

Tenure

Personal life

Abney resides in the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

neighborhood of Pittsburgh with his wife Tamara Abney and their two sons.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic committee vote , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General election , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic primary election

References

External links

House websiteHouse Democratic caucus profileCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abney, Aerion Andrew Living people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American people in Pennsylvania politics African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania American social workers Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Philadelphia Politicians from Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh alumni 1988 births