DeVito hopes famous name, plans for future translate to votes for state rep

Danny DeVito wants to be your state representative, Pennsylvania District 45.

No, not the Hollywood star known for his roles in “Taxi” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

This Danny DeVito, 27, is a self-proclaimed working class conservative who is seeking the Republican Party nomination on a pro-drilling, pro-industry platform.

“The driving thing for me really was standing up for our natural gas industry and also expanding it,” said DeVito, who announced his candidacy this week. Although he’s seeking the Republican nomination, DeVito already is looking ahead to the general election.

District 45 has long gone to a Democrat. State Rep. Anita Kulik, a Democrat, has held the office for three years.

“I love the people and I love the communities and this job, representing them in Harrisburg is such an honor and I don’t take it lightly,” Kulik said. She grew up in Carnegie, living in the borough for about 30 years, and now lives in Kennedy Township.

The district covers a population of more than 61,000 people, including Carnegie, Coraopolis, Kennedy, Robinson and part of Scott.

DeVito, who has lived in Carnegie for about a year and grew up on the other side of the state, is the son of a corrections officer and X-ray technician. He graduated from the University of Akron School of Law in 2019 and will take the bar exam in February. He works as a law clerk at Logue Law Group in Carnegie — a town that he’s grown to love, he said.

“My focus in law school was on natural gas,” he said, talking about the large potential Pennsylvania has to export natural gas throughout the world. “There’s a whole pool of wealth that hasn’t been tapped and people are struggling for jobs.”

DeVito said he wants to grow those jobs in the area.

“We have the resources right here and I think that we need to protect that,” said DeVito, who is pro-union.

Kulik said she “has no opposition to jobs coming into our region” as long as checks are in place for the industry.

DeVito has been involved with conservative groups and political campaigns since college. He was informally involved with the Trump campaign, and still supports the president today.

DeVito also wants to focus on property tax relief, mentioning that senior citizens often struggle when taxes go up. He would support a 10-percent “sin tax” on gambling and alcohol that would go towards property tax relief.

“We were promised that for years. I would want to see it written into the law itself so that it had to happen,” he said.

He also would support the decriminalization of marijuana and “funneling a portion of that towards property tax relief.”

Kulik also says property taxes need to be held in line.

“We have to worry about our seniors,” she said. “It’s the state’s job to help the school districts and municipalities work to keep that in check.” Although, she knows it’s not an easy fix.

DeVito also is pro-life and wants to see a heartbeat bill introduced in Pennsylvania. He also is pro-second amendment.

Kulik, too, is pro-life. When talking about her platform, she said that she is in the communities every day getting to know the people and leaders and pointed to the growth that has occurred in the district over the last several years.

It’s not lost on DeVito that he likely will have name recognition when it comes time for people to vote.

He’s OK with that. Everyone seeking political office has some advantage, he said. This can be his.

“What I’m hoping for is that they’ll get to know me for who I am, but then the name, it will stick in their heads and they’ll say, ‘Oh, I know another Danny DeVito who is a Republican running for state rep,’” he said.