LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AUSTIN DAVIS SPEAKS, JAN. 8, AT THE CARPENTERS PITTSBURGH TRAINING CENTER. (PHOTO BY ROB LIGGETT)
More work to do, he says
McKeesport native Austin Davis wants four more years as Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor.
The first Black Lieutenant Governor in Pennsylvania history, Davis felt like him and the Pa. Governor, Josh Shapiro, kicked butt and took names during their first four years as the state’s top tandem.
So why not “run it back” (do it again), as Gov. Shapiro quipped when he got onto the stage at the Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center on Ridge Road, Jan. 8.
“I didn’t get involved in public service for a title or for a spotlight,” Lt. Gov. Davis said to a crowd of about 200, Jan. 8. “I got involved because of what I saw as a kid growing up in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, when I was 16 years old and a man was shot on my block. I remember standing there feeling helpless. I remember my sense of safety and security being shattered and I remember thinking that nobody should have to live in a community where they don’t feel safe.”
PA. LT. GOV. AUSTIN DAVIS (PHOTO BY ROB LIGGETT)
The Lieutenant Governor continued: “No parent should have to wonder whether their child will make it home at night, and no family should do everything right, work hard, show up, play by the rules and still live with that fear hanging over them. That moment has never left me, and from that point on, I knew that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power.”
For Lt. Gov. Davis, he’s a man who shows up not only in Harrisburg, but in Wilkinsburg, in Homewood, in the Hill District, in Pittsburgh’s Black communities as a whole. His mother and father were in attendance at the Jan. 8 event, in which he officially announced his re-election campaign. Governor Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Davis took office on Jan. 17, 2023, and following the November 2026 general election, they hope to once again get elected by the people of Pennsylvania and serve a second term beginning in January 2027.
Lt. Gov. Davis spoke exclusively to the New Pittsburgh Courier on Jan. 9. He said that he has helped to provide universal breakfast for Pennsylvania students, cut taxes seven times, and created a working families tax credit “to put more money back in the pockets of folks here in Pennsylvania.”
AFRICAN AMERICAN SUPPORTERS OF THE SHAPIRO/DAVIS TICKET. (PHOTO BY ROB LIGGETT)
Specifically to the Black community, he said he’s tirelessly worked to make sure the rates of gun violence continue to lessen. That includes “driving out millions of dollars to support violence prevention programs that are doing the work in our communities to stop violence,” and “spending millions of dollars to support law enforcement to make sure they have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.”
For Lt. Gov. Davis, he told the Courier that a lot of life has been put into perspective now that he’s a father to Harper, his 2-year-old daughter. She was in the audience, too, on Jan. 8, along with Lt. Gov. Davis’ wife, the Second Lady, Blayre.
“I want to make sure that I leave her (Harper) a Pennsylvania that is fairer, stronger and more hopeful than the one that I inherited,” Lt. Gov. Davis said. “And I really do believe that, that’s my promise for all of Pennsylvania’s children.”
PA. GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO ANNOUNCES HIS RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN, JAN. 8. (PHOTO BY ROB LIGGETT)
Lt. Gov. Davis, in the interview with the Courier, said that when he was in high school, he never thought he would become Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor. “I wanted to go to college, I knew that,” he said. “I knew I wanted to do something in public service. I didn’t know that running for office would be that lane.”
Lt. Gov. Davis said he thought he would be running a non-profit organization, as an example. It wasn’t until long after his days at the University of Pittsburgh did he see himself running for office, and winning. Well, he became the state representative for the 35th House District, which includes the Mon Valley, and then onto Lieutenant Governor.
“Life kind of has a way of setting you on a trajectory,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Davis also knows that he is a role model, as well. Who knows, there could be young African American men and women that are in Pittsburgh right now watching how Lt. Gov. Davis moves, how he gets things done, how he leads, how he speaks, how he parents.
“My advice (to them) would be to find what you’re passionate about and make that your career or life’s mission,” Lt. Gov. Davis said, “because if you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. And regardless of what your passion is, remember that you have a responsibility to give back, in some way, shape or form.”