About Tristan

---

The Alle-Kiski Valley is my story and I am among the second of our generations to inherit a world worse off than our parents. 

Four generations of my family have lived in this valley, with deep working-class roots. My great grandfather was a steelworker who built railroad cars for Pullman Standard and my maternal grandfather was an IBEW lineman who spent decades working with Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council under Paul Stackhouse and Jack Shea. My grandmother was a union registered nurse at Citizens General Hospital and my paternal grandfather was a schoolteacher in the Valley for 31 years. It was upon the foundation of all their hard work and sacrifice that my mother ran for Congress and my father became an entrepreneur. 

Like my family, I was raised in Harrison Township. At 15 years old, while working on a US Congressional campaign to unseat Tea Party Republican Keith Rothfus, I moved to O'Hara Township and attended Fox Chapel Area High School. As a student there, I helped lead a campaign for school safety which sent me to Washington DC at the invitation of Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, and Congressmen Mike Doyle and Keith Rothfus. In 2019, Senator Casey recommended me as a candidate for the United States Naval Academy. After graduating High School, I attended the University of Pittsburgh and will graduate in 2022 with a double major in economics and international affairs. 

My experience with government has been enriching and showed me how impactful our leaders can be for our communities. In 2019-2020 I worked in the Real Estate Tax Department for County Treasurer John Weinstein's office supporting our local municipalities. In 2021 I worked in the Armstrong County Public Defenders' Office learning about the criminal justice system and how to protect our 4th Amendment rights as Americans. I am currently a constituent services aid for Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill. 

I've gained so much from all the help and support my family and my community have given me throughout my life. Now, to give back, I'm running for State Representative for the 33rd District. This is a newly cut, open district where we must elect a new leader for the 21st century. I am running to be the fresh, energetic, and fighting voice of our working-class here in the Valley. We need a representative who can stand up for our working people, keep our jobs here, raise wages, improve our infrastructure, and get our schools the resources they need to help the next generation  succeed.