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William Petulla
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
William Petulla (Democratic Party) (also known as Bill) ran for election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent District 28. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Petulla completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
William Petulla was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Petulla's career experience includes working as a deputy district attorney. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas in 1997 and a law degree from the Washburn University School of Law in 2001.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 28
Jeremy Shaffer defeated William Petulla in the general election for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 28 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeremy Shaffer (R)  | 57.0 | 23,228 |
 | William Petulla (D) | 42.9 | 17,514 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 41 | ||
| Total votes: 40,783 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 28
William Petulla advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 28 on April 23, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | William Petulla | 99.0 | 5,683 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.0 | 60 | ||
| Total votes: 5,743 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 28
Jeremy Shaffer advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 28 on April 23, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeremy Shaffer | 98.6 | 5,340 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.4 | 78 | ||
| Total votes: 5,418 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Petulla's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Petulla in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released December 11, 2023 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
William Petulla completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Petulla's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I’m running to be the next State Representative in House District 28 to keep families safe and bring proven leadership to Harrisburg. After graduating from Washburn University School of Law, I started my career as a parental advocate representing families facing the loss of their children. I then represented abused and neglected children across Allegheny County at KidsVoice. For the last 15 years, I have served in the District Attorney’s office fighting for survivors of domestic violence and prosecuting violent crimes in Allegheny County. Before serving as the Chief Trial Deputy, I was an active member of the United Steelworkers union, and will always advocate to invest in our region's workers. In my current role, I work to supervise prosecutors as they work to ensure justice is properly served in the face of violent crime.
While I love serving our community in the work I do everyday, I find it limiting in how I can proactively address issues that lead to violent crime, poverty, and a lack of investment in our communities. I'm running for State Representative to actively address these issues and cut through partisan extremism to pass good, commonsense legislation that makes our communities safe and prosperous. As a father of three, a Little League baseball coach, and a lifelong public servant, I believe I can be the voice that voters in our district need in Harrisburg.
- Voters are sick and tired of the partisan extremism on both sides of the aisle that leads to gridlock and lack of action at the state and federal level. The truth is, most folks want their legislators to work together to support necessary public services, responsibly and efficiently manage taxpayer dollars, and pass bipartisan commonsense legislation that invests in jobs and public safety. I'm running to live up to that commitment to put people over politics and work across the aisle to get things done for everyday hard-working Pennsylvanians.
- As a lifelong public servant and criminal prosecutor, I am deeply committed to keeping our communities safe. From properly funding law enforcement and first responders, to passing commonsense public safety legislation, we deserve to feel safe and secure in our communities. I'm proud to have law enforcement supporting my campaign and I am committed to keeping our communities safe.
- I understand the financial insecurity many are facing. From the tough kitchen table conversations about what the next paycheck will cover, to struggling to afford quality healthcare and paying the mortgage on-time, I believe families deserve a break. Responsibly managing taxpayer dollars is a critical role for our elected officials. I'm committed to ensuring that our tax dollars are used efficiently to support local economic opportunity and avoid unnecessary tax increases for working families.
My top priorities include increasing resources for law enforcement and first responders, passing common sense legislation to crack down on illegal possession and use of deadly weapons, addressing the mental health crisis by providing access to mental health services for our children, investing in our region's infrastructure, defending reproductive freedom, and ensuring safe, accessible, and secure elections.
I believe that the most important characteristic in an elected official is the ability to work with those who have different opinions and viewpoints. American politics is replete with gridlock and an unwillingness to communicate, let alone compromise, with the opposing party. Compromises and moving forward is critical for effective governance and most importantly serving the public interest. Additionally, elected officials must have integrity, compassion, and a commitment to their communities.
I believe the best qualities I have to be an elected official are integrity, leadership, a strong work ethic, and a passion for public service. As the chief trial deputy district attorney, I have spent a career upholding ethical principles. Working in leadership among an office of 120 attorneys, I have always made open communication and an open-door policy a priority. Lastly, I lead by example and have worked diligently and exhaustively in preparing for trials - at times sleeping in the office while preparing for trial. My commitment to public service is a defining characteristic of my career from cleaning up the Pennsylvania Turnpike, to prosecuting Allegheny County’s most violent crimes, I will always put our community above all else.
The core responsibilities of elected officials are to never lose sight of the priorities and needs of their constituents and to always serve the public interest of those who elected them into office. As such, always being available to meet and discuss various issues affecting their constituents is paramount to effective leadership. Being accountable to the constituents who voted their elected officials into office is crucial not only for oversight, but accountability. Elected officials must foster open communication with their constituents and keep them informed about government initiatives and programs that may help impact their lives.
I would like to leave a legacy of integrity and commitment to my community. I am running to put people over politics. I will work tirelessly to get bipartisan approval on legislation and pass common sense laws that a majority of Pennsylvanians want and need. We need to come together as a community, despite partisan differences, to address local needs and issues. It is my hope that my legacy will include that commitment.
My very first job was working on the Pennsylvania Turnpike during summers while I was in high school and college. I was tasked with doing highway clean up across a 25 mile stretch. I had to wake up at 4:45 a.m. each day and drive over an hour to start my shift. Despite the hot temperatures and tough physical work, it taught me the importance of a strong work ethic, resilience and perseverance. Above all, I was proud to give back to my community to keep the Pennsylvania turnpike clean and maintained.
I believe the greatest challenges facing Pennsylvania in the next decade are healthcare access, advancing mental health services as a universal priority for school-age children, investing in infrastructure to address our aging bridges and roads, and creating opportunities for economic development and growth.
Yes. Not only do I believe that it is important and beneficial, but we owe our constituents the efforts to find common ground with those who have differing opinions. Partisan infighting serves no purpose and does our constituents and the Commonwealth a disservice. Additionally, some issues require regional partnership to address. For example, my district is woefully underserved as it relates to public transportation. We need to cultivate relationships to work together with state and county governments as well as adjacent representatives to support a regional transportation structure that supports the region as a whole. Everyday Pennsylvanians don’t go about their daily life confined to district-lines. By having a positive working relationship with other legislators, we can address issues to benefit the greater community.
No. As a first-time candidate, I am laser focused on my race for state representative. We see too often how politicians will use local offices as stepping stones to higher offices, oftentimes not providing their constituents with the proper care and representation in the process. I am committed to the office that I am running for and will always put the needs of my constituents above any and all political aspirations.
As I continue to knock on thousands of doors in my district, I am grateful to have heard so many personal stories about issues and priorities for those in my district. One that stands out to me is a conversation I had with a man who gave me a tour of the backyard of his modest home. He showed me the flood damage that occurs perpetually every time it rains. As his property abuts a main road and from the road, the street, and the bank across the street’s drainage, his house serves as a ground-zero for the runoff. He said that the State has been unresponsive. The County and Township have similarly failed to follow up with him. The current state representative has also not returned his calls. His problems are in stark contrast to the adjacent bank, where the local officials quickly addressed their flooding concerns. The take-away was that elected officials need to be reminded of who they work for. Namely, this man, who sees his property ravaged by flooding several times per year. It is stories like these that I will take with me to Harrisburg to fight for policies and action that will help improve the daily lives of my constituents.
Organizations:
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #1, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades, Teamsters Joint Council 40, Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Pennsylvania Laborers' District Council, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 57, Steamfitters Local 449, Sheet Metal Workers Local 12, IBEW Local 5, Insulators Local 2, Operating Engineers Local 66, Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Allegheny County Democratic Committee.
Individuals:
The following committees speak directly to my policy priorities and the needs within my district: The Children and Youth Committee, the Health Committee, the Human Services Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Labor and Industry Committee, the Transportation Committee, and the Education Committee.
Perhaps nowhere is the role of an elected official more important than to provide financial transparency as well as being accountable to those who placed you into office with their votes. Such fiscal transparency allows citizens to hold their legislators accountable for their votes, actions and decisions. Being held accountable promotes trust in government institutions and ensures that elected officials are answerable to their constituents. Government accountability empowers citizens to actively participate in the democratic decision making process. This leads to better-informed citizens, who will in turn make more reasoned decisions. Transparency and accountability acts as a powerful deterrent to corruption and mismanagement of public resources. I am committed to ensuring that our tax dollars are spent efficiently and responsibly so that our legislature and state government are using funds in the best interest of everyday Pennsylvanians.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 28 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 25, 2024
Current members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Joanna McClinton
Majority Leader:Kerry Benninghoff
Minority Leader:Jesse Topper
Representatives
District 1
Patrick Harkins (D)
District 2
Robert Merski (D)
District 3
Ryan Bizzarro (D)
District 4
Jake Banta (R)
District 5
Eric Weaknecht (R)
District 6
Bradley Roae (R)
District 7
Parke Wentling (R)
District 8
Aaron Bernstine (R)
District 9
Marla Brown (R)
District 10
Amen Brown (D)
District 11
Marci Mustello (R)
District 12
District 13
John Lawrence (R)
District 14
Roman Kozak (R)
District 15
Joshua Kail (R)
District 16
Robert Matzie (D)
District 17
Tim Bonner (R)
District 18
K.C. Tomlinson (R)
District 19
Aerion Abney (D)
District 20
Emily Kinkead (D)
District 21
Lindsay Powell (D)
District 22
Joshua Siegel (D)
District 23
Dan Frankel (D)
District 24
La'Tasha Mayes (D)
District 25
Brandon Markosek (D)
District 26
Paul Friel (D)
District 27
Daniel Deasy (D)
District 28
Jeremy Shaffer (R)
District 29
Tim Brennan (D)
District 30
Arvind Venkat (D)
District 31
Perry Warren (D)
District 32
Joe McAndrew (D)
District 33
Mandy Steele (D)
District 34
District 35
Dan Goughnour (D)
District 36
Jessica Benham (D)
District 37
Mindy Fee (R)
District 38
John Inglis (D)
District 39
Andrew Kuzma (R)
District 40
Natalie Mihalek (R)
District 41
Brett Miller (R)
District 42
Dan Miller (D)
District 43
Keith Greiner (R)
District 44
Valerie Gaydos (R)
District 45
Anita Kulik (D)
District 46
Jason Ortitay (R)
District 47
Joe D'Orsie (R)
District 48
Timothy O'Neal (R)
District 49
District 50
Bud Cook (R)
District 51
District 52
Ryan Warner (R)
District 53
Steven Malagari (D)
District 54
Greg Scott (D)
District 55
Jill Cooper (R)
District 56
Brian Rasel (R)
District 57
Eric Nelson (R)
District 58
Eric Davanzo (R)
District 59
Leslie Rossi (R)
District 60
Abby Major (R)
District 61
Liz Hanbidge (D)
District 62
James Struzzi (R)
District 63
Josh Bashline (R)
District 64
R. James (R)
District 65
Kathy Rapp (R)
District 66
Brian Smith (R)
District 67
Martin Causer (R)
District 68
Clint Owlett (R)
District 69
Carl Metzgar (R)
District 70
Matthew Bradford (D)
District 71
Jim Rigby (R)
District 72
Frank Burns (D)
District 73
Dallas Kephart (R)
District 74
Dan Williams (D)
District 75
Mike Armanini (R)
District 76
District 77
Scott Conklin (D)
District 78
Jesse Topper (R)
District 79
Louis Schmitt (R)
District 80
Scott Barger (R)
District 81
Richard Irvin (R)
District 82
Paul Takac (D)
District 83
Jamie Flick (R)
District 84
Joe Hamm (R)
District 85
David Rowe (R)
District 86
Perry Stambaugh (R)
District 87
Thomas Kutz (R)
District 88
Sheryl Delozier (R)
District 89
Rob Kauffman (R)
District 90
Chad Reichard (R)
District 91
Dan Moul (R)
District 92
Marc Anderson (R)
District 93
Mike Jones (R)
District 94
Wendy Fink (R)
District 95
Carol Hill-Evans (D)
District 96
Nikki Rivera (D)
District 97
Steven Mentzer (R)
District 98
Tom Jones (R)
District 99
David Zimmerman (R)
District 100
Bryan Cutler (R)
District 101
John Schlegel (R)
District 102
Russell Diamond (R)
District 103
Nate Davidson (D)
District 104
Dave Madsen (D)
District 105
Justin Fleming (D)
District 106
Thomas Mehaffie (R)
District 107
Joanne Stehr (R)
District 108
Michael Stender (R)
District 109
Robert Leadbeter (R)
District 110
Tina Pickett (R)
District 111
Jonathan Fritz (R)
District 112
Kyle Mullins (D)
District 113
Kyle Donahue (D)
District 114
District 115
Maureen Madden (D)
District 116
Dane Watro (R)
District 117
Jamie Walsh (R)
District 118
James Haddock (D)
District 119
Alec Ryncavage (R)
District 120
Brenda Pugh (R)
District 121
Eddie Pashinski (D)
District 122
Doyle Heffley (R)
District 123
Tim Twardzik (R)
District 124
Jamie Barton (R)
District 125
Joe Kerwin (R)
District 126
Jacklyn Rusnock (D)
District 127
Manuel Guzman (D)
District 128
Mark Gillen (R)
District 129
District 130
David Maloney (R)
District 131
Milou Mackenzie (R)
District 132
District 133
Jeanne McNeill (D)
District 134
Peter Schweyer (D)
District 135
Steve Samuelson (D)
District 136
Robert Freeman (D)
District 137
Joe Emrick (R)
District 138
Ann Flood (R)
District 139
Jeff Olsommer (R)
District 140
Jim Prokopiak (D)
District 141
Tina Davis (D)
District 142
Joseph Hogan (R)
District 143
Shelby Labs (R)
District 144
Brian Munroe (D)
District 145
Craig Staats (R)
District 146
Joseph Ciresi (D)
District 147
Donna Scheuren (R)
District 148
Mary Daley (D)
District 149
Tim Briggs (D)
District 150
Joseph Webster (D)
District 151
Melissa Cerrato (D)
District 152
Nancy Guenst (D)
District 153
Ben Sanchez (D)
District 154
Napoleon Nelson (D)
District 155
District 156
District 157
District 158
Christina Sappey (D)
District 159
Carol Kazeem (D)
District 160
Craig Williams (R)
District 161
Leanne Krueger (D)
District 162
David Delloso (D)
District 163
Heather Boyd (D)
District 164
Gina Curry (D)
District 165
Jennifer O'Mara (D)
District 166
Gregory Vitali (D)
District 167
Kristine Howard (D)
District 168
Lisa Borowski (D)
District 169
Kate Klunk (R)
District 170
Martina White (R)
District 171
District 172
Sean Dougherty (D)
District 173
District 174
Ed Neilson (D)
District 175
Mary Isaacson (D)
District 176
Jack Rader (R)
District 177
District 178
Kristin Marcell (R)
District 179
Jason Dawkins (D)
District 180
Jose Giral (D)
District 181
Malcolm Kenyatta (D)
District 182
Benjamin Waxman (D)
District 183
Zachary Mako (R)
District 184
District 185
Regina Young (D)
District 186
Jordan Harris (D)
District 187
Gary Day (R)
District 188
Rick Krajewski (D)
District 189
Tarah Probst (D)
District 190
Roni Green (D)
District 191
Joanna McClinton (D)
District 192
Morgan Cephas (D)
District 193
Torren Ecker (R)
District 194
Tarik Khan (D)
District 195
Keith Harris (D)
District 196
Seth Grove (R)
District 197
Danilo Burgos (D)
District 198
Darisha Parker (D)
District 199
Barbara Gleim (R)
District 200
Christopher Rabb (D)
District 201
Andre Carroll (D)
District 202
Jared Solomon (D)
District 203
Anthony Bellmon (D)
Democratic Party (102)
Republican Party (101)
