Art Haywood

Art Haywood
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 6, 2015
Preceded byLeAnna Washington
Personal details
Bornc. 1958
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Julie Billingslea
​
(m. 1989)​
Children3
EducationMorehouse College (BA)
London School of Economics (MS)
University of Michigan (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website

Arthur L. Haywood III[1] (born c. 1958[2]) is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from the 4th district since 2015. A Democrat, he is also the current president of the advocacy group Americans for Democratic Action.[3]

Early life and education

Haywood grew up in Toledo, Ohio,[2] the son of Arthur and Virginia Haywood.[4] His mother, Virginia, was a public school teacher and education activist.[2]

Haywood graduated from Rogers High School in 1975.[2] He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1979. A Marshall scholar, Haywood earned a Master of Science degree from London School of Economics. Haywood earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1985.[4]

Haywood moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1985 to pursue his law career.[2]

Political career

In 2009, Haywood, inspired by the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, ran for a seat on the Board of Commissioners of Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania.[2][5] He would serve for five years on the board, serving as president of the board for two years.[2]

In 2014, Haywood defeated incumbent Pennsylvania State Senator LeAnna Washington, who was indicted for misuse of office, as a Democratic primary challenger.[6] He then won in the general election to represent the 4th district.[2] Haywood was re-elected in 2018 and 2022.[7][8]

Political positions

Policing

Following the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown Jr., in 2015, Haywood introduced legislation that would have mandated the Pennsylvania Attorney General to investigate all police-related killings. He reintroduced a modified version of the bill in 2022 that would have required district attorneys to investigate police killings without the involvement of the police department. If the district attorney decided not to prosecute the officer, the case would then be referred to the Attorney General.[9]

Gun control

After failing to get in contact with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Haywood staged a sit-in outside the mayor's office to advocate for a solution to Philadelphia's gun violence problem.[10]

In 2022, Haywood campaigned for re-election on a platform that included restricting the sale and purchase of military grade weapons and accessories.[11]

Following the federal passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Haywood advocated for the passage of a red flag law in Pennsylvania.[12]

January 6

In 2022, Haywood sponsored a memorandum that called for the observance of the January 6 Capitol attack in Pennsylvania schools.[13]

After several politicians participated in the Capitol attack, including State Senator Doug Mastriano, Haywood introduced a resolution that would empower the Pennsylvania Secretary of State in using Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to disqualify such participants from ever holding elected office again.[14]

In 2024, Haywood called for an ethics investigation into Mastriano's involvement in attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election and January 6;[15] the State Senate's Ethics Committee declined to investigate Haywood's complaint against Mastriano.[16]

Personal life

Haywood married his wife, Julie Billingslea, in 1989. They have three adult children.[2] Julie is currently a member of the school board of the Cheltenham School District.[17]

Electoral history

2009 Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners Democratic primary election, Ward 2[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Art Haywood 395 55.71
Democratic Paul R. Greenwald 313 44.15
Write-in 1 0.14
Total votes 709 100.00
2009 Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners election, Ward 2[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Art Haywood 946 77.57
Republican Denise Marshall 259 22.09
Write-in 3 0.25
Total votes 1,218 100.00
2013 Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners election, Ward 2[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Art Haywood (incumbent) 973 99.69
Write-in 3 0.31
Total votes 976 100.00
2014 Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary election, District 4[21][22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Art Haywood 16,113 39.75
Democratic LeAnna Washington (incumbent) 13,708 33.82
Democratic Brian D. Gralnick 10,711 26.43
Total votes 40,532 100.00
2014 Pennsylvania Senate election, District 4[23][24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Art Haywood 78,001 81.37
Republican Robin Matthew Gilchrist 16,498 17.21
Independent Ines Reyes 1,355 1.41
Total votes 95,854 100.00
2018 Pennsylvania Senate election, District 4[25][26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Art Haywood (incumbent) 110,147 86.58
Republican Ronald F. Holt 17,068 13.42
Total votes 127,215 100.00
2022 Pennsylvania Senate election, District 4[27][28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Art Haywood (incumbent) 85,705 83.93
Republican Todd Johnson 16,305 15.97
Write-in 104 0.10
Total votes 102,114 100.00

References

  1. ^ "2022 General Election Tuesday, November 8, 2022 Official Returns PHILADELPHIA". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Troy, Tom (January 19, 2015). "Toledo native Haywood moves into Pennsylvania state Senate". The Blade. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  3. ^ "Officers". Americans for Democratic Action. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Senator Art Haywood". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  5. ^ "About". Senator Art Haywood. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  6. ^ Miller, Larry (October 2, 2014). "The amazing rise and fall of LeAnna Washington". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  7. ^ Henninger, Danya (November 6, 2018). "Election results: Here are PA's winners and losers in the 2018 midterms". Billy Penn. WHYY. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  8. ^ Morris, Sam; Lo, Jasen; Saint, Dain. "2022 Pa. State Results". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  9. ^ Baker, Christiana (May 24, 2022). "Lawmaker urges Pa. legislature to make it easier for attorney general to investigate police killings". WHYY-FM. Spotlight PA. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  10. ^ Saunders, Brian (April 19, 2022). "Senator Haywood stages a sit-in at City Hall to demand action from Mayor Kenney". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  11. ^ Ulrich, Steve (October 12, 2022). "PA Senate Preview: Philadelphia Region". PoliticsPA. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  12. ^ Searles, Sam (June 27, 2022). "With new federal gun laws in place, Pa. lawmakers push for state 'red flag' laws". WHYY-FM. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda - 1/6 Day in Schools". Pennsylvania State Senate. Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  14. ^ Sweitzer, Justin (October 13, 2022). "State senator wants to use Constitution to ban insurrectionists from office". City & State Pennsylvania. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  15. ^ Murphy, Jan (January 2, 2024). "Pa. senator calls for probe into Mastriano's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results". PennLIVE Patriot-News. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  16. ^ Hall, Peter (March 7, 2024). "Pa. Senate Ethics Committee will not investigate Mastriano insurrection allegations". Pennsylvania-Capital Star. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  17. ^ "School Board / Julie Haywood". Cheltenham School District. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Election Results Primary Election May 19, 2009 Book 1" (PDF). Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. June 8, 2009. p. 23. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Election Results General Election November 3, 2009 Book 1" (PDF). Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. December 3, 2009. p. 25. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  20. ^ "2013 General Election November 5, 2013 Summary Report Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Official Report" (PDF). Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. November 25, 2013. p. 10. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  21. ^ "2014 General Primary Tuesday, May 20, 2014 Official Returns MONTGOMERY". electionreturns.pa.gov. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  22. ^ "2014 General Primary Tuesday, May 20, 2014 Official Returns PHILADELPHIA". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  23. ^ "2014 General Election Tuesday, November 4, 2014 Official Returns MONTGOMERY". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  24. ^ "2014 General Election Tuesday, November 4, 2014 Official Returns PHILADELPHIA". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  25. ^ "2018 General Election Tuesday, November 6, 2018 Official Returns MONTGOMERY". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  26. ^ "2018 General Election Tuesday, November 6, 2018 Official Returns PHILADELPHIA". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  27. ^ "State Senator Results". Philadelphia City Commissioners. November 27, 2022. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  28. ^ "MONTGOMERY COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS General Election November 8, 2022" (PDF). Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. November 28, 2022. p. 2. Retrieved 1 April 2023.