ERIKKA GRAYSON, AMANDA NEATROUR AND JUDGE QUITA BRIDGES ARE AMONG THE BLACK WOMEN RUNNING FOR ELECTED POSITIONS IN THE MAY 20 PRIMARY ELECTION. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
Black women will be well-represented on the ballot for the Primary Election on Tuesday, May 20.
Some of them were making their voices heard and their platforms known during a networking event at Everyday Cafe, March 12, sponsored by the organization Sisters Lifting As We Climb.
Among those in attendance running for office included Erikka Grayson (Pittsburgh School Board), Judge Quita Bridges (Court of Common Pleas Judge), and Amanda Neatrour (Pittsburgh City Council, District 2). There were other Black elected officials in the house, too, such as Wilkinsburg Borough Councilmember NaTisha Washington and Wilkinsburg School Board Director Ashley Comans.
The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that for Court of Common Pleas Judge, in addition to Judge Bridges, Black women vying for one of the open judicial positions include Amanda Green-Hawkins, Elizabeth Hughes and Carmen Robinson. For Magistrate Judge, Aisha I. Tate is a candidate.
For Pittsburgh School Board, Black women candidates in addition to Grayson include Tawana Cook Purnell, Tracey Reed and Tonya Fores.
STANDING—SHARNAY HEARN DAVIS, NATISHA WASHINGTON. SEATED—ERIKKA GRAYSON, AMANDA NEATROUR, JUDGE QUITA BRIDGES. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
“I always get excited when I see other Black women putting their name on the ballot because repmatters,” said Sharnay Hearn Davis, founder and executive director of the Sisters Lifting As We Climb network. “Locally, a lot of attention was being focused on the mayoral race, and there are so many other people who are running for elected seats…how can we play our part” to showcase others, especially Black women, Davis told the Courier.
Grayson, Judge Bridges and Neatrour met about 50 women in attendance, but they also got to hear stories from the current elected officials—their struggles, their ups and downs on when they first ran for office, and what it’s like to be in office now.
Judge Bridges technically is already a member of the Court of Common Pleas, as she was appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro in February 2025. She is currently in the criminal division. However, she must run again to stay in the position, as there are eight judicial seats available in a field of roughly 20 candidates.
“I want to be able to share my experience with people, and I want people to know that they can come to my courtroom and not only will justice be served, but also they will get a fair shot, someone who has a listening ear, and someone who knows how to show compassion plus redemption,” Judge Bridges told the Courier at the event.
Neatrour is in a real fight for the District 2 Pittsburgh City Council seat. “When people tell lies and they spread rumors and they do every under-handed thing to diminish you, it actually hurts everyone in the long run, especially voters,” Neatrour told the Courier. “It just gives me fuel to run even harder, because I’m running on a platform of love, of bringing kindness back into our community, of neighbors caring for neighbors.”
And Grayson told the Courier that she’s not a political person, but after what she says she’s witnessed in Pittsburgh Public Schools like Weil and Miller elementaries, “I see the disparities when it comes to the education that these children are getting.”
Grayson, who has two children at Pittsburgh Montessori and one child who is an Allderdice High School graduate, added: “This is not the time for us as women, as Black people, that we should remain idle. With the current climate of this world, it’s time to flip over some tables and really make some serious changes.”