HARRISBURG, Jan. 7 – State Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Allegheny, was sworn in Tuesday to his seventh term representing Pittsburgh’s 19th Legislative District and will begin serving in the key post of minority chairman of the House Finance Committee.
Wheatley was appointed to the chairmanship, his first, by House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny. The Finance Committee reviews legislation related to finance and taxation and its jurisdiction includes the Department of Revenue.
“I thank Leader Dermody for entrusting me with the important Finance Committee chairmanship. In November, Pennsylvanians voted by nearly a 10-point margin to change direction with Governor-elect Tom Wolf, and I look forward to working with him and legislators from both parties to address the challenges facing our state, including the $2 billion deficit, the need to restore massive school funding cuts and our rank of 50th in job creation,” Wheatley said.
“I also plan to continue working on priorities such as including minority- and women-owned businesses in state contracts, providing teachers with a tax credit for school supplies they buy with their own money and providing first-time drug offenders the same opportunity that first-time DUI offenders have to get to and from work, school and medical treatments.”
Wheatley was first elected in 2002 to represent the 19th Legislative District, which includes historic Pittsburgh neighborhoods such as the Hill District, North Side, South Side, Allentown, Hazelwood, Downtown, the Bluff, Knoxville, Beltzhoover, Manchester, Arlington, Arlington Heights, and West, South and North Oakland.
