Austin Davis, Allegheny County Delegate
“From the minute I was born, the Democratic Party always cared about me.”
From Beaver County to Bucks County, delegates are traveling across the Keystone State to support Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. This week we’re sharing the delegates’ remarkable stories of resilience and tenacity.
I became interested in government and politics when I was in high school. I grew up in a small suburb outside of the city of Pittsburgh. I went to a local council meeting and noticed there weren’t a lot of people that looked like me — I’m an African American — and there weren’t a lot of people in my age group that were serving. I went to college and worked in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for a few years. After graduating, I worked in the county executive’s office in Pittsburgh and became the vice chairman of the Democratic Party here.
One issue I’m interested in is seeing more African Americans elected to office. I’m interested in criminal justice reform, economic inequality and LGBTQ issues. Basically strengthening our communities. Right now, we’re seeing a lot of differences among people play out, not just in this election but in the news media. I think a lot of it has to do with inequality in this country, so that’s the issue I’m the most passionate about.
Do you have any personal anecdotes and stories of how one of those issues you mentioned has impacted you or someone you know or have met?
When I was in junior high, I had a friend who was shot and killed as an innocent bystander by other young people who were involved in gang activity. That really spurred me to take a practiced stand in government and politics. That’s initially what led me to go to that council meeting.
What do you think we could do now to stop gun violence and protect people and our citizens?
A lot of it is about economics. There’s a saying, “The quickest way to take a gun out of somebody’s hand is to put a paycheck in it.” Gun violence is spurred by drugs and tough economic situations. I think the root cause of it all is money: people want to make more money, they want to survive, and they don’t necessarily have the same access to education or economic empowerment as other people.
That’s a broad statement, but I think focusing on making sure education is fair for everyone in this country, making sure that everybody has access to quality health care, and making sure that everybody has the opportunity to advance after high school is key. Not everybody’s going to go to college and be a college graduate, but you do need to have some type of workforce development training afterwards to make sure that you can have a life-sustaining job.
What are some other ways issues around having access to education has impacted communities in Pittsburgh?
In Pittsburgh, it’s been a struggle recently because we don’t have, as most states do, a Fair Funding Formula, which drives out dollars from the state to local school districts based on need and test scores. School districts that were in the poorest communities were being penalized with less funds because they weren’t meeting test score standards. It should actually be the reverse. They should be getting more resources to bring those schools up to their counterparts in their areas, but they were actually getting punished.
Have you ever met any students who’ve been affected by these disparities in education?
If I walked into my local high school, those students are affected by it every day. I would say that the funding that they receive for their school is far less than a wealthier school district would receive. It’s noticeable in the lack of resources and the lack of programs that they have for low income students.
If you were to walk into that high school and look around, what would it look like? How could you tell that the school is lacking in resources?
Visually, it looks like any other school. It’s not dilapidated. But take a look at the programs. Basketball and football are the biggest programs, but there’s not a lacrosse team, a golf team, or a robust arts program. You can’t see those things right away, but you see them in the classroom if you’re really looking at the curriculum.
A lack of comprehensive programs definitely affects what’s going to happen after students leave school or how difficult it even is to stay in school. I’ve heard of schools closing down in the Pittsburgh area and people having to move.
Wilkinsburg is the most recent example. They just closed their high school and moved the students from Wilkinsburg to Westinghouse in the city of Pittsburgh, but Westinghouse is probably the worst school in the Pittsburgh public school system. Students were taken from what was a failing Wilkinsburg school and put them into a failing Westinghouse school. Another example of that is in Duquesne, where the high school was closed and none of the nearby districts were willing to take the students, who were predominantly African American.
A lot of people feel unwanted. It’s like going into somebody’s house when you know they don’t really want you there. I think the adults in the district wanted to keep their school open. They thought schools were important to the state, but it just wasn’t worth funding anymore. It wasn’t working. The common thing is that they all want their students to have a good quality education.
What could be done on a government level, even starting with local governments, state government, to keep these schools from closing?
We should start fairly funding our education system. We just got a basic Funding Formula last year, so I think that’s going to start happening. In Pennsylvania, we need to start considering school district consolidation. You’re seeing some poor school districts that are struggling because they have a dwindling tax base and are really struggling to afford the operations of the schools. Taking a serious look at school districts’ consolidation is probably a good start.
A lot of these issues go back to economics: funding and distributing it and making it more fair.
We have a good example here in Pennsylvania with Governor Ed Rendell. When Ed Rendell was the governor, he infused massive amounts of money into public education. He was the education governor. When Tom Corbett, a Republican, was elected with a Republican legislature, they slashed education funding by about $2 billion.
Now Governor Wolf, who’s a Democrat, is dealing with a Republican legislature and is fighting to increase in public education. It’s still not where it should be.
Absolutely. Can you recall the moment when you decided that you wanted to support Hillary Clinton in the election?
I knew I was going to support Hillary Clinton years ago. I probably knew in 2012 that I was going to support Hillary Clinton for President in 2016. I was a huge Obama supporter in 2008. She could have very easily endorsed President Obama, washed her hands of it, walked away, and did her own thing. Instead, he rolled up her sleeves, campaigned for him, and said, “he’s the best guy for this job, I want him to have it.” She campaigned for him after running a really hard primary. That took real character. That’s the character I want in my president.
She’s the most qualified person we’ve had run for President.
How do you feel about Trump?
I feel offended. That’s how I feel about Donald Trump. I think he insults the intelligence of the American people every day. I think he is someone who truly wants to divide this country more than he wants to unite it.
What does being a Democrat mean to you?
Being a Democrat means I’m standing up for working people. It means I care about the middle class. Being a Democrat is everything to me.
From the minute I was born, the Democratic Party always cared about me, whether it was through CHIP [Children’s Health Insurance Program], after-school programs or fully funding education. I’m a recipient of Pell Grants and federal student aid loans, which would not have been possible without Democrats. I’m the son of a hairdresser and a bus driver and one of the first in my family to go to college and graduate. None of that would have been possible without Democrats constantly pushing for more social programs and for helping people.
You’ve got to give people tools to lift themselves up. You can’t just throw somebody out there and say, “you should become successful,” without giving them any tools to do that.
