La'Tasha Mayes | |
|---|---|
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the24th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Martell Covington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | La'Tasha Denise Mayes Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Pittsburgh (BS) Heinz College,Carnegie Mellon University (MS) |
La'Tasha Mayes is an American activist and politician who is a member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of theDemocratic Party, she represents the24th district, which contains parts ofPittsburgh.
Mayes was born and raised inWest Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. She graduated from theUniversity of Pittsburgh in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree inbusiness administration. She then attendedHeinz College atCarnegie Mellon University, where she graduated with a Master of Science degree in public policy and management in 2005.[1]
Mayes is an activist and community organizer forreproductive justice.[1] In 2004, Mayes co-founded New Voices for Reproductive Justice, anintersectional[2] advocacy group emphasizing thereproductive health and well-being of Black women and LGBT people in Pennsylvania and Ohio,[3][4][5] and served as its president and executive director until 2022.[1][4] The organization won a lawsuit in 2015 which compelled thePennsylvania Department of Human Services to expandMedicaid coverage for 74,415 low-income women in Pennsylvania.[6] In 2022, deeming the result ofthe gubernatorial election critical to protectingabortion rights in Pennsylvania, the group endorsed and helped to organize voters forDemocratic nomineeJosh Shapiro.[5][7]
In 2008, New Voices for Reproductive Justice was among the leading groups to lobby for the creation of human relations commissions at the county and state levels to enforce statutes of non-discrimination on the basis ofgender identity andsexual orientation.[7] WhenAllegheny County enacted such legislation and created such a commission in 2009, Mayes was appointed to be vice chair of the Allegheny County Human Relations Commission.[7][8] In 2022, Mayes identified the strengthening of the provisions of thePennsylvania Human Relations Act to a fullLGBT non-discrimination ordinance as a campaign priority in her run for thePennsylvania House of Representatives.[9]
In 2015, Mayes ran for thePittsburgh City Council in the 7th district, losing the Democratic primary to incumbent Deborah Gross.[1][7]
On January 19, 2022, Mayes announced that she would run for thePennsylvania House of Representatives fromthe 24th district, which contains parts ofPittsburgh. The seat was vacated midway through the term by Rep.Ed Gainey, who had been electedmayor of Pittsburghin 2021. In the special election to succeed him, the Democratic nominee was chosen on February 5 by a vote of local party committee members;Martell Covington, a former legislative aide tostate senatorJay Costa,[10] won a plurality of the committee vote and was thus nominated,[11] while Mayes placed second out of six candidates.[11][12] Covington won the special election on April 5 and was seated on April 26.[13]
Subsequently, Mayes ran again for the seat in the regular Democratic primary on May 17 for the full term that would begin in 2023.[14] In her announcement, she said that she was motivated to run to improvecommunity health in the district, with a particular focus on addressinginequities in healthcare that were exacerbated by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[1] Mayes also asserted that her extensive experience in the field of reproductive justice was relevant in an atmosphere of political threats toabortion access and comprehensivematernal healthcare,[1] arguing that she would be the strongest candidate to protect abortion rights in Pennsylvania ifRoe v. Wade would be overturned (which indeed occurred in June 2022 in theU.S. Supreme Court decisionDobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization).[7]
In the Democratic primary, Mayes defeated incumbent Rep. Covington by a margin of 46% to 38%, while a third candidate, Randall Taylor, garnered 16%.[10][15] Political observers noted that Mayes won despite Covington again receiving the endorsement of the county Democratic committee,[2] and drew comparisons toJessica Benham andSummer Lee, two other progressive insurgent candidates who won their elections without the county party endorsement.[2]
Mayes won the general election unopposed on November 8.[9]
Upon taking office, Mayes will become the first lesbian state legislator in the history of Pennsylvania.[2][9]
Mayes lives in Pittsburgh with her partner and daughter.[1][10] She is a lesbian.[1][2][9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic primary election | |||||
| Democratic | Deborah Gross | 2,597 | 64.46% | ||
| Democratic | La'Tasha Mayes | 1,417 | 35.17% | ||
| Write-in | 15 | 0.37% | |||
| Total votes | 4,029 | 100.00% | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | Deborah Gross | 5,736 | 97.55% | ||
| Write-in | 144 | 2.45% | |||
| Total votes | 5,880 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic committee vote | |||||
| Democratic | Martell Covington | 40 | 39.60% | ||
| Democratic | La'Tasha Mayes | 24 | 23.76% | ||
| Democratic | Randall Taylor | 16 | 15.84% | ||
| Democratic | NaTisha Washington | 10 | 9.90% | ||
| Democratic | Lamar Blackwell | 6 | 5.94% | ||
| Democratic | Will Anderson | 5 | 4.95% | ||
| Total votes | 101 | 100.00% | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | Martell Covington | 5,054 | 92.96% | ||
| Republican | Todd Elliott Koger | 311 | 5.72% | ||
| Write-in | 72 | 1.32% | |||
| Total votes | 5,437 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic primary election | |||||
| Democratic | La'Tasha Mayes | 5,360 | 46.21% | ||
| Democratic | Martell Covington (incumbent) | 4,416 | 38.07% | ||
| Democratic | Randall Taylor | 1,824 | 15.72% | ||
| Total votes | 11,600 | 100.00% | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | La'Tasha Mayes | 21,036 | 100.00% | ||
| Total votes | 21,036 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the24th district 2023–present | Incumbent |
