They say that behind every great man is often a greater woman, but it's rare that both share the same spotlight, serving front and center in local politics. Ashley Comans, a candidate for the recently redistricted Pa. House District 34, proves that when it comes to juggling life, love, and politics, embracing community is essential to success.
Ashley is not only a candidate running for a seat in the Pa. House, but is also married to Dontae Comans, the mayor of Wilkinsburg. Dontae supported Ashley during her 2017 campaign for Wilkinsburg's school board prior to running for mayor. He was later elected in 2021.
When asked about their dynamic, Ashley said he was the “yin to my yang.”
Now Ashley is the one running again. Ashley says, “We tag team all the campaign duties while also tag teaming family responsibilities.” She described Dontae as her “rock.”
“Having him as my partner has been the best support that I can have," she tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “[He's] the most amazing caregiver to our young children while I'm out knocking doors and making phone calls.”
Ashley’s campaign slogan — “A Family Affair” — makes plain that her family also includes friends, allies, and her community. Ashley knocked doors for U.S. Rep. Summer Lee while she was pregnant up until she went into labor close to Election Day. Lee is now the godmother to her youngest son.
“Family,” for Ashley, also includes her potential constituents.
“I am just asking for them to trust me, to be that leader that always keeps them included," she says. “My office will be a safe place, a focal point to continue to engage, listen to, and include everyone, and, most important, those who have been the most marginalized.”
This family dynamic is also why the Comanses have focused their efforts on Wilkinsburg, where they live. “I wanted to send my kids to the school down the street and feel comfortable with that. So I ran for school board, and the rest is history," Ashley says. “I couldn't just show up to vote; that wasn't enough. [Running for] school board was an immediate way to effect change for our community, knowing that, if we don't help ourselves, no one else is going to do it. Unfortunately, prior to me running, I didn't see it for myself.”
Ashley’s time on the school board not only included lowering the millage rate in order to decrease the borough's high property taxes, but also restructuring the district’s elementary schools, creating a county department dedicated to children, expanding out-of-school programming, and improving foreign language programs. When asked whether the change in property taxes negatively impacted the schools, she said they haven’t seen any issues. Wilkinsburg's partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) has given their schools the additional support and resources they needed without having to merge with the PPS — yet.
Ashley says strong women in her family have served as role models throughout her career. Jean Bryant, the founder of the Miss Black Teenage Pageant in 1973 who recently passed away, would say “Always wear your C.A.P.” (the acronym stands for “Confidence, Awareness, Pride”). “I still carry that with me today,” Ashley says. She won the pageant in 2005, receiving a scholarship through the program that helped pay for her tuition for Clarion University. “There weren't enough opportunities for young Black girls to be in power. She’d always say, ‘You can't be it until you see it.’”
“My mom was my biggest cheerleader,” Ashley continues. “She would give her last to make sure that I could participate in whatever my heart desired.” Her grandmother was likewise an “example for me of how having a good, union-paying job makes a difference. She worked until she was able to retire. She’s still able to take care of herself and her family. That is something that I'm afraid we don't see anymore.”
“That influences me to fight for our communities. I want them to have these opportunities to take care of themselves and their families,” Ashley adds. “I want them to have the necessary means to not only survive but also to thrive.”
Pa.'s 34th District includes Braddock, East Pittsburgh, Forest Hills, Swissvale, Wilkinsburg, and much of Homewood and Point Breeze. Summer Lee previously represented the district before she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Comans’ allies say Ashley's opponent, Abigail Salisbury, was chosen by party insiders to be the Democratic nominee in a special election, leaving some constituents feeling as though they didn’t get much choice in the matter.
"When I realized that approximately 20 people were basically going to pick my next representative, I was livid," Amanda Barber, president of the Wilkinsburg school board, tells City Paper. Barber has since gotten involved with the local Democratic committee, which she says "needs more diversity.”
"I am very glad that we're going to get the chance now to have a choice in who's going to represent us," Barber says.
Ashley has since recently received the endorsements of Allegheny County executive Sara Innamarato, Pittsburgh mayor Ed Gainey, and Lee in spite of not receiving the Allegheny County Democratic Committee's endorsement. When asked whether she thought she still stood a chance to win this race without the endorsement, she pointed out that some of her predecessors did not receive it, either. Comans remains focused not on pleasing the party apparatus, but on representing her community.
“Once elected, we are going to continue to be in overdrive fighting for working families, fighting to fairly fund our public schools, to push for paid family and medical leave, and increase the [Commonwealth's] minimum wage," she says. “This is the work that is happening but needs continued momentum and fire. Day one, I will hit the ground running on all these issues.”
