A longtime White Oak council member and former local fire chief announced this week he is running for the state House’s 35th district, after the seat became vacant earlier this month due to Matt Gergely’s death.
Charles Davis, a Republican who has served on White Oak’s council for more than two decades, wrote on Facebook that Mr. Gergely’s death was a great loss for the district and community. He added that he was entering the race after “careful thought and discussion with my family and community members.”
The 35th district includes many communities in the Mon Valley, including part of West Mifflin, White Oak, McKeesport, Homestead, West Homestead, Clairton, Duquesne, Lincoln and many others. Mr. Gergely had suffered a medical emergency in recent weeks, missed his swearing-in earlier this month and died Jan. 19.
The county’s Republican committee nominated Mr. Davis during a meeting Friday evening to run in the special election, which is scheduled for March 25. The county’s Democratic committee is holding an election Saturday afternoon in McKeesport to pick from six candidates:
- Tim Eads, of Munhall, a borough councilman.
- Rikell S. Ford, of Clairton, a social worker with Allegheny County.
- Daniel E. Goughnour, of McKeesport, who works in the city’s police department.
- Mary E. Nesby, of Homestead, who serves on the borough council.
- Louis Ransom Jr., of Munhall, who is borough manager for Braddock.
- Dexel M. Tolliver, of Clairton, who has worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as an employment officer.
Mr. Davis, the GOP nominee, told the Mon Valley Independent in 2023 that he first ran for White Oak’s council in the early 2000s because there was discussion about disbanding the borough’s police department. He is most proud of helping prevent that from happening, along with working to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars of delinquent payments for garbage pickup, and paving various roads throughout White Oak.
The 35th district is heavily Democratic, as the party has well over a two-to-one voter registration edge over Republicans.
First Published: February 1, 2025, 1:57 p.m.
Updated: February 3, 2025, 1:48 p.m.
