Wheatley talks diversity in Pittsburgh, state government

Like most Pitt students, University alumnus and current state Rep. Jake Wheatley occasionally… Like most Pitt students, University alumnus and current state Rep. Jake Wheatley occasionally skipped a class.

But instead of sleeping through lectures, he used the time to help improve conditions in the Hill District.

As a student, Wheatley, who graduated from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 2000, served on the Hill District’s Community Development Corporation and immediately noticed a large difference between his native city and Pittsburgh.

“In Detroit,” Wheatley said, “there is a fairly influential African-American middle class.”

Wheatley, who spoke in Posvar Hall Friday as part of GSPIA’s Roscoe Robinson Jr. Memorial Lecture Series, said that concept is not as prominent within Pittsburgh’s community. He partly credits this difference to the high percentage of black college graduates who leave the city after completing their degree.

Wheatley said a recent poll showed that 7 out of 10 black college students plan to leave Pittsburgh as soon as they graduate. He blames this exodus of students on a lack of available jobs for young people and a deficient atmosphere for young people to relax after work.

“We claim to have a 24-hour Downtown,” Wheatley said, “but how can a Downtown be a 24-hour Downtown if stores close at 6 p.m.?”

Wheatley, who represents Allegheny County, contends that a lack of diversity extends beyond the city of Pittsburgh to the State Assembly, not only in terms of race, but also in regard to gender and socio-economic diversity.

In a series of statistics he presented to the audience, Wheatley stated that of the 253 members of the state’s political body 37 are women, 21 are black, one is Asian, and one is an American Indian.

“Up until 2006, we hadn’t had a woman elected to the House,” Wheatley said. He also directed attention to the fact that while the national government stands at 3 percent minority membership, the state government is somewhat lagging behind with 1 percent minority membership.

Wheatley said if people want to solve this problem, state representatives and Pennsylvania citizens should be open and honest with one another about their strengths and their challenges.

He highlighted one example of an attempt at openness in his own life. Though he served in the Marines, Wheatley has never been hunting and is a staunch gun-control advocate. However, he often encourages members of the Senate who oppose gun control to invite him on hunting trips in an attempt to bridge the divide between those senators and himself.

Wheatley contended that similar tactics of openness and honesty can be used by Pennsylvania citizens and law makers to achieve unity, despite possible differences.

“We have a lot to do,” Wheatley said of Pittsburghers’ role in championing diversity, “but we have a lot of opportunity to do it.”

In addition to his comments on diversity, Wheatley also took time to note a significant digression taking place against college students in the funds appropriations process. As a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Wheatley said he has seen legislators exhibit a bias toward senior citizens.

He said legislators often choose to devote money towards seniors’ causes, such as property taxes and senior rent rebate, over educational institutions such as Pitt, because seniors make up the majority of voters. For this reason, legislators put very little consideration into putting the city’s new gaming revenue toward education, Wheatley said.

“It’s a challenge of mentality,” Wheatley said. “Everybody cowers to the senior voting block.” He said he hopes that this bias within the state legislature will change in the future.