Paige Gebhardt Cognetti
Paige Gebhardt Cognetti is the first woman elected mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She was born to parents Lynda and Robert Gebhardt on August 27, 1980 in Beaverton, Oregon, where her parents currently reside.
Political Career[edit]
In the 2019 special election for Mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Paige Cognetti ran as an independent, after changing her party affiliation. Cognetti was earned 36% of the vote, and was elected to fill the remainder of the former Mayor, Bill Courtright’s term. Courtright resigned from office in July, after pleading guilty to bribery, conspiracy, and extortion.[1]
Mayor Cognetti served as Special Assistant to the Pennsylvania Auditor General, Eugene DePasquale. Cognetti’s area of focus in the role were financial management, governance and transparency, recognized in overseeing of public school districts, care for older adults, criminal justice reform and student debt.
After moving to Scranton in 2016, Mayor Cognetti served as a director on the Scranton School Board, overseeing a $160M budget and helping navigate the district's dual crises of financial distress and public mistrust. Cognetti served on the board of multiple local nonprofit organizations and economic development committees, and managed projects at her husband’s small business, Caravia Fresh Foods.
Cognetti served in the Obama administration as a senior advisor to the Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2009 through 2012.[2] She specialized in fundraising and project management on numerous political campaigns, including Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign where she lead the out-of-state volunteer program in Pennsylvania.
Personal Life[edit]
Cognetti attended the University of Oregon, obtaining a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Romance Languages, graduating with honors and summa cum laude. After graduation, she taught high school English in Yokohama, Japan. She furthered her education by receiving a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard University in 2014. She married her husband, Ryan, 2 years after moving to the Scranton Area. Mayor Cognetti gave birth to her daughter, Sloane, on December 21, 2019.[3]
References[edit]
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