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CityAndStatePA .com
March 21, 2022
A Q & A with State Rep.
Summer Lee This Pittsburgh community organizer is hoping to make the jump from state representative to congresswoman.
By Harrison Cann
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity. You have had a lot of experience in organizing and activism. What was the catalyst
that made you want to run for public office? We just came off of organizing around our school system. We had a whole bunch of things really going badly and a lot of parents and students and family members who just felt like we didn’t have any power to make changes to that. We did a campaign, however, and I think that really turned the tide. It showed our community that if we come up with a plan, we find our own people, and we run them, then we can actually start to change the trajectory of things. We saw that success with the school board – it was incredibly empowering. And then, we were trying to figure out: What can we do next? How can we find more folks – particularly Black folks – to run for office? That was when the opportunity presented itself to me. I just thought it would be a good opportunity to ele-
vate some of my lived experiences and the lived experiences of my neighbors and my family members in my community.
lack of productivity. Just on the state level, we have one of the least productive legislatures in the country.
You’re trying to make the jump from state representative to U.S. representative. What have you learned from your time in Harrisburg and your previous campaigns that’s guiding you on your congressional run? I’ve learned that there’s a different way to do politics. I learned up close and personal that we don’t have to accept that this is just the way that things go and this is just the way that people move in the political space. We are going to have to really do some introspection about the complicity – how our political system has shaped – where it’s gotten to, and the ways in which we have kind of contributed to the
What does it mean to you to be one of the faces of the progressive movement in western Pennsylvania and to get endorsements from national names like Bernie Sanders? It’s an honor and it’s definitely a huge responsibility … When we see a (U.S. Sen.) Bernie Sanders or an (U.S. Rep.) Ayanna Pressley or Justice Democrats who are throwing down with us in this race, I think it’s because they recognize how powerful of a thing we’re building here. They see our area has been leading on this in so many ways that we’ve been creating a blueprint. I think that invigorates us and really encourages us and creates momentum in our region.
THE SUMMER LEE FOR CONGRESS CAMPAIGN
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TATE REP. Summer Lee is looking to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle – and, in the process, to become the first Black woman from Pennsylvania elected to Congress. Lee faces a handful of opponents in the new 12th Congressional District Democratic primary but is confident her progressive résumé and people-driven campaign will push her over the top. With the May 17 primary election fast approaching, City & State spoke with Lee on the growing progressive movement in Western Pennsylvania, Doyle’s legacy, and what she can bring to the table.
Lee is running for U.S. representative in the 12th Congressional District, which includes part of the Mon Valley.
