Costa aide wins backing for Gainey’s seat
Homewood resident likely to serve state House’s 24th District for a few months
A lifelong Homewood resident who serves as a legislative aide to state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa will more than likely succeed Ed Gainey in the state House — at least for a few months.
Martell Covington, 34, who is also vice president of the Young Democrats of Allegheny County, picked up the endorsement of the county Democrats this past weekend, cementing his status as the likely seatwinner in a special election for the 24th House District’s open seat on April 5.
The April election will decide who serves out the remainder of Mr. Gainey’s term, which ends in November. He resigned the seat at the beginning of the year to become Pittsburgh’s mayor.
Since parties select their nominees for the race — and because the district is deeply blue — Mr. Covington is on a fast track to win the special election uncontested and represent the district that spans Pittsburgh’s eastern edge and the borough of Wilkinsburg.
Voters in the district have until March 21 to register to vote in the special election. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is March 29 at 5 p.m.
The circumstances surrounding the election to determine who serves a full term in the seat — a term that will begin in January 2023 and end in 2025 — remain a bit more complicated. That election, coinciding with the regular 2022 cycle, will take place under new legislative maps, the result of once-a-decade redistricting that is not yet complete.
Mr. Covington, who attended Central Catholic High School before going to Howard University where he graduated in 2010 with a business administration degree, would most likely be eligible to run in the newly drawn district and, assuming he wins the special election in a few months’ time, could defend his seat. It is unclear if he would face opposition either in the primary or in a general election.
When Mr. Covington launched his campaign, he said it’ll take real investment to lift up neighborhoods of the district that have some of the lowest life expectancy rates in the city.
“This discussion has to go beyond data points and into action into saving lives,” Mr. Covington said in a speech from Homewood’s Community Empowerment Association. “We have to invest in our lives. We have to invest in our people. This is why I’m running.”