State Rep. Austin Davis said Friday that after addressing the pandemic’s impact, he plans to prioritize investing in infrastructure and economic development in his new role as chair of the 2021-22 Allegheny County House Democratic Delegation.

The 31-year-old, third-term lawmaker from McKeesport told the Tribune-Review that he will focus on “ensuring that the priorities of Allegheny County residents are effectively advocated for in Harrisburg.”

“The first thing we’re going to have to do is deal with the economic impacts of covid,” Davis said. “And as we hopefully begin to come out of this pandemic, how do we help small businesses; how do we help the folks who have been devastated by this pandemic rebuild; how do we make sure that we’re getting out unemployment benefits at a faster rate,” Davis said. “Raising revenue in this environment is going to be difficult.”

The delegation includes all Democratic state representatives in Allegheny County.

Davis and fellow Democratic staffers believe he is the first Black lawmaker to helm the group.

“I’m very excited,” said Davis, who also is the first Black lawmaker to serve the 35th District, which includes Clairton, Duquesne, West Mifflin, South Versailles, Versailles, Whitaker and White Oak. Davis previously served as Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s executive assistant.

“I represent all of the Democratic state representatives with our leadership team in Harrisburg, but also to external stakeholders in the region — the mayor, the county executive, labor unions, the nonprofit sector,” Davis said. “It comes with more responsibility to help other delegation members achieve their goals, as well as helping the leadership team in the Democratic Caucus.”

Davis was tapped to head the delegation in place of outgoing chairman state Rep. Dan Miller, who has been named chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Miller “set the tone of being a very active delegation chair,” Davis said.

“I plan to continue to be an active delegation chair and to help our members achieve their goals, which are ultimately the goals for our residents here in Allegheny County — like good-paying jobs, clean environment, investment in infrastructure and a strong education system so that every child can succeed,” Miller said.

Miller will be working on setting legislative priorities and day-to-day management alongside top Democratic leaders, including newly named House Minority Leader Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia — the first woman to serve as a minority leader in the House or the Senate in the General Assembly’s 244-year history.

“As the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. Miller is going to have a much bigger role, where he’s really focused on our delegation, now he has to focus on all 90 members of our caucus from a statewide perspective, so I suspect that he’s going to be very busy managing the priorities of all Democrats,” said Davis, “but we’ll still work closely together.”

After outgoing House Minority Leader Frank Dermody’s loss, Miller chairing the Caucus “is huge,” Davis said.

“Losing Frank Dermody, we (Allegheny County) could have easily ended up without having a leader on the state leadership team. ... We’re glad that Rep. Miller was well-positioned to carry the mantle of being a leader for the region,” Davis said. “There are some common things that bind us together as Democrats, but individually each region is different. It’s ensuring that our region has a voice.“

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