Abigail Salisbury

Abigail Salisbury was born in Conneaut, Ohio. Salisbury graduated from Fairview High School in 2000. She earned a bachelor's degree from Case Western Reserve University in 2004, a master's degree in public policy and management from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007, and a juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013. Salisbury's career experience includes working as an attorney with Salisbury Legal, LLC, the head of operational functions of Track Up Bookkeeping, LLC, and the program director of the Pittsburgh Haiti Symposium.[1][2][3]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Abigail Salisbury is a solo attorney in Swissvale Borough, where she provides affordable, accessible legal services to nonprofits and small businesses. Abigail has worked abroad in Kosovo, Ethiopia, and Senegal, as well as locally at Pitt, where she served as Executive Director of JURIST.org and taught First Amendment Law to undergraduates. Now in her fifth year on Swissvale Council, Abigail spent the past two years as Council President, working to improve resident services, change police hiring practices, and implement many free programs, including food scrap composting, junior council membership, kids’ theater camp, and a children’s event with Allegheny Goatscape and Swissvale Library. Abigail brings the “Service, Safety, Success” principles she developed as Council President to her campaign for PA State House in District 34, and she wants to be a Representative in the truest sense of the word, listening to residents and representing their needs and views in Harrisburg, all for the betterment of the community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Service: Constituent services are key, with a strong emphasis on actively listening to residentsSafety: Smart approaches to police policies (body camera implementation and changed hiring processes), environmental health, organic drug legalization, and asset forfeiture reformSuccess: Building and assisting small businesses and nonprofits, reality-based education reform and greater emphasis on trades as career possibilities

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Our infrastructure is literally crumbling (our collapsed borough building and Fern Hollow Bridge are just two recent examples) from decades of neglect, and much of it will not be up to the task of withstanding the demands of climate change. Another type of infrastructure is education, and we have neglected it and allowed wildly differing experiences for children based simply on where their parents can afford to live, which is unacceptable. Our state must emphasize improvements to this infrastructure to help individuals, businesses, and organizations to thrive. We must stop the foolish "war on drugs" and legalize marijuana and psilocybin in the state as soon as possible. Strong civil and human rights must be maintained for our state in a time when many states are rolling back both.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I try not to identify individuals to look up to, because people are fallible beings and if the person fails in some way or disappoints us, sometimes it is tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater and stop valuing what one saw in that person to begin with. I think it is better to identify principles and try to follow those.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Listening, advocacy, honesty, hard work.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am a good listener and strong advocate.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

It is called a representative for a reason. One is there to listen to residents and represent their needs and concerns, then do the best that can be done for them.

What legacy would you like to leave?

“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what’s left and live it properly.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first big historical event I can remember was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. I was 7.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was mucking out horse stalls at a local barn near my house outside of Erie, PA. As a horse-obsessed teenager, somehow I actually loved this job. I worked there for a summer.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Tie between Mason & Dixon and The Chess Garden. I'm a sucker for slightly-surreal travelogues.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The Doctor from Dr. Who, but only for a bit, not forever, because I don't have the patience of a Time Lord.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Good Morning Baltimore

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I am always working on improving my resilience.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

An open line of communication.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Infrastructure, education, economic opportunity in an equitable way.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

I don't live in Nebraska, so this is unlikely to come up in my race.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I think that all experience in life informs our decisions and approaches to problems and opportunities, so while it is not necessary, I think it can sometimes be helpful to have previous experience in government and/or politics.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

I think building relationships with other legislators is essential. As a borough council member, I have seen the ways in which people's ideas get sharper by working on them with others and the ways in which more things get done when people have strong working relationships instead of distrustful squabbles.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

One which provides the most equitable opportunities for representation.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Liquor Control because we have had issues with nuisance bars in my community and I want to work on ways to prevent and manage those situations. Local Government, Commerce, and Agriculture are also all appealing to me.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Per a previous answer, I don't believe in idolizing people.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Right now this is my focus.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I've spoken to a great many older residents who really have come to rely on constituent services from their elected officials, and they speak about the ways in which their Representative in Congress was able to get their elderly husband's VA benefits straightened out, or how their State Senator's office helped them with their taxes. It is these day-to-day affairs that most attract me to this type of service.

Tell us your favorite joke.

A Jew is shipwrecked on an island. To pass the time, he slowly constructs an entire town's worth of buildings.

One day he is rescued and the rescuers ask why if there’s only one of him, he’s built two separate synagogues.

“That synagogue,” the man sneers, pointing at one of the synagogues, “that’s the one I would never step foot in!”

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

This is situation-dependent and the common law developed on the subject must now be followed.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I think that politics has come to make "compromise" a dirty word. As an attorney, we often hear the maxim that the best settlement to a dispute is one that leaves both sides unhappy.