Erin C. Molchany (born June 13, 1977) is an American politician and a former member of 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 ...

. She also previously served as the Southwest Director for

Pennsylvania Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforc ...

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...

. She is 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 ...

Personal life and education

Molchany is a native of

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

. Molchany graduated from Parkland High School in 1995 and

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

in 1999.

Career

While at Duquesne University, Molchany worked at the Emergency Services Department of the American Red Cross's Southwest PA chapter in Pittsburgh. Molchany served as the head of the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project. She has been affiliated with the Coro Center, and served on the Allegheny County Democratic Committee. Molchany has also been affiliated with the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership, the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

, and the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Molchany was named by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of the "40 Under 40" in 2013 for her legislative and non-profit career work.

2005 City Council Race

Molchany first ran for public office in 2005 for the District 2 seat in

Pittsburgh City Council The Pittsburgh City Council serves as the legislative body in the City of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city ...

against endorsed candidate

Dan Deasy Daniel Deasy is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Deasy graduated from Bishop Canevin High School and attended the University of Pittsburgh. He worked as a foreman for the Pittsburgh Department of Public Works be ...

, Paul Mastreanda, Paul Renne, and Melissa Rossiter. Molchany placed fourth in the primary election held on May 17 with 615 votes.

2012 Election

After 22nd district incumbent

Chelsa Wagner Chelsa L. Wagner (born July 24, 1977) is an American politician currently serving as a Judge in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. She previously served as the Allegheny County Controller. She resigned her position at the beginning of 2 ...

was elected to the office of Allegheny County Controller in 2011, Erin announced her candidacy for the seat in February. Running against Martin Schmotzer and Shawn Lunney, Schmotzer won the special election on April 24 to finish Wagner's term, but lost the primary election for the new term to Molchany. Molchany subsequently won her general election race to the Pennsylvania House in November, 2012.

Pennsylvania State House Career

Molchany served on the Consumer Affairs, Education, and Human Services committees. Molchany prioritized mass-transit funding, protecting clean air and clean water, public education, and supporting local businesses. She saw the Pennsylvania voter ID bill as a distraction from more important priorities. Molchany was one of a number of Democratic legislators who supported Gov. Tom Corbett's 2013 transportation bill. In addition, Molchany supported legislation supporting equal pay for equal work alongside Rep.

Brian Sims Brian Kendall Sims (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician, activist and attorney. A Democrat, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 182nd district from 2013 until 2022. Sims is also a lawyer and advocat ...

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 ...

Redistricting and 2014 Primary Election

Due to mandated redistricting every ten years, the 22nd legislative district was moved across the state to

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...

while the former footprint was split between the surrounding existing legislative districts. Molchany's own residence was redistricted into the 36th district, represented by

Harry Readshaw Harry A. Readshaw III (born August 17, 1941) is a retired American politician. He was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 36th District from 1994 until 2020. He and his wife live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvani ...

since 1995. Receiving the endorsements of newly elected Mayor of Pittsburgh

Bill Peduto William Mark Peduto (born October 30, 1964) is an American politician who was the 60th mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 2014 until 2022. He was a Democratic member of the Pittsburgh City Council from 2002 to 2014. Before his election to ...

, Allegheny County Executive

Rich Fitzgerald Rich Fitzgerald (born May 8, 1959) is an American elected official who serves as the 3rd County Executive of Allegheny County. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member oAllegheny County Councilfrom 2000 until 2011 as t ...

, as well as a number of Pittsburgh City Council members, Molchany declared her re-election bid for the new 36th district on February 18 to a crowd of supporters at the City Theatre on the South Side. Molchany later received endorsements from the

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

SEIU 32BJ Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ (often shortened to SEIU 32BJ, 32BJ SEIU or just 32BJ), is a branch of Service Employees International Union headquartered in New York City which mainly represents building workers (maintenance, cu ...

and SEIU Healthcare PA,

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

PAC, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, among others. Molchany lost the primary election to Rep. Readshaw on May 20, 2014 by a margin of 60.02% to 39.80%.

Post-House Career

On January 20, 2015, Molchany was sworn in as the Southwest Director for Gov.

. She worked in that capacity until early 2019, when she briefly served as a Special Advisor to the Governor. She subsequently took another Commonwealth position as a Legislative Liaison in the Department of Health.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

Campaign website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molchany, Erin Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Duquesne University alumni Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Allentown, Pennsylvania Women state legislators in Pennsylvania 1977 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians