Jake Wheatley Jr. is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

who served as a 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 ...

from the 19th district, covering 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 cen ...

, North Side, South Side,

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 Taze ...

, Hazelwood,

Downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River who ...

, The Bluff,

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

, Beltzhoover,

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 ...

, Arlington, Arlington Heights, and North, South and West Oakland.

Early life and education

Wheatley graduated with a bachelor's degree in Political Science from

North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

and 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 univers ...

with a Masters in Public Administration. As a member of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

, Wheatley served in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. He was awarded with the

Combat Action Ribbon The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR, ), is a high precedence United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

and

Southwest Asia Service Medal The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members ...

Career

From 1998 to 2000, Wheatley served as executive assistant to Sala Udin, a member of the

Pittsburgh City Council The Pittsburgh City Council serves as the legislative body in the City of Pittsburgh. It consists of nine members. City council members are chosen by plurality elections in each of nine districts. The city operates under a mayor-council syst ...

. In 2002, Wheatley ran for the 19th Legislative District Allegheny County. Seven-term incumbent Bill Robinson tried to derail the Wheatley campaign by revealing a 'youthful indiscretion' that was later expunged from Wheatley's record. In 2012, Wheatley was arrested on charges of simple assault related to an altercation with his fiancée over childcare expenses. The charges were later withdrawn and Wheatley apologized to his constituents. Wheatley currently serves as the Majority Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education (and is only the second first-term legislator to serve on that committee) as well as the majority Chairman of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee on Health. In addition, he serves as a member of the Education and Transportation committees, Vice Chair for the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus and as the Vice Chair for the Democratic Policy Committee. He also serves as a Deputy Majority Whip for the House Democratic Caucus. Wheatley is a member of the

Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsy ...

. Wheatley entered the race for the Democratic nomination for

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 the 2013 election in early March of that year, but lost the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, coming in third behind winner

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 ...

and runner-up Jack Wagner. Wheatley became

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

for Pittsburgh 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 ...

in February 2022.

Committee assignments

* Professional Licensure, Democratic Chair

References

External links

Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Jake Wheatley
official PA House website *''Follow the Money'' - Jake Wheatley
200620042002
campaign contributions
Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus - Rep. Jake Wheatley
official Party website Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Living people African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania Politicians from Pittsburgh North Carolina A&T State University alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni 21st-century American politicians 1971 births 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people {{Pennsylvania-politician-stub