The race to replace state Rep. Anita Kulik — which could be a key legislative battle in Western Pennsylvania this fall — has gained another entrant.
Robinson Township attorney Brittany Bloam is the third Democrat to declare her interest in Kulik’s 45th District seat, which represents suburbs south and southwest of Pittsburgh.
“I am a working mom, a lawyer [and] I decided to enter this race in big part because I care so deeply about my kids’ opportunities,” she said.
A native of Elk County, Bloam came to Pittsburgh for law school nearly 20 years ago, and for the past half-decade she has lived in the home where her husband grew up. She said a goal as a legislator would be ensuring that, unlike her, her children “can stick around if they want to and hopefully not move 150 miles from me.”
Bloam joins community volunteer Fred Coleman and Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena in the Democratic field. She’s the first woman to enter the race, and she said her status as a first-time candidate also marks her as an agent of change.
“ I am a fresh face in this race,” she said. “To me, the old way of doing things just isn’t working anymore. I think we need more outside fresh perspectives in government.”
Bloam is hoping to replace Kulik, who will leave at the end of the year after a decade in Harrisburg. Kulik was among the most conservative Democrats from the region, but Bloam said she admired the incumbent’s ability to nurture connections throughout the district.
“She’ll definitely be a tough act to follow,” said Bloam. “I mean, she is at every community event. She knows everything that is going on.”
But where Kulik was opposed to abortion rights, Bloam said, “I am very much a proponent of reproductive rights and the government staying out of that decision.”
Bloam, whose own legal specialty is land-use laws, added that as a lawyer, “I think the last thing we want is lawyers in the back room deciding when a woman is close enough to death to need medical care.”
Her early campaign messaging has emphasized a mix of familiar political tropes — such as the importance of good schools and job opportunities — with Democratic priorities that include defending civil rights and expanding access to health care.
Still, she said her rural upbringing has given her the ability to understand both sides of culturally divisive issues. The district’s most urgent needs are not bound up in such debates, but in the need to obtain state funding for decaying infrastructure and to have a responsive legislative office providing community service, she said.
The 45th District includes working-class communities such as Bridgeville, Carnegie, Collier, Coraopolis, Kennedy, McKees Rocks and Robinson. And while it’s been represented by Democrats for decades, its voting and registration patterns skew more conservative than many other areas of the county. In a state House where Democrats hold a one-seat edge, the district may be the best opportunity Republicans have for a pick-up. (Two Republicans, James Julius and Rocco Cozza, have expressed a desire to compete this fall.)
Bloam’s entrance in the race has been quiet so far. But she will vie with Catena and Coleman for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement — a stamp of approval by party leaders who vote for their favorite early next month.
And Bloam said she’d be able to hold the seat for Democrats this fall, in part because “My family’s facing a lot of the things that other families in District 45 are facing. And I think it’s important — for whether it’s me or other younger moms — to get involved in politics. We really need to hear from the people who are dealing with these everyday issues.”
The Democratic primary is May 19.