For some young voters in Allegheny County, local elections are just as important as national ones – and perhaps even more important. Rafay Khan-Afridi, a sophomore political science and economics major at the University of Pittsburgh, believes that having a “livable environment” is among the main issues that young voters could have had an impact on through this year’s election, which took place Tuesday. “When it comes to things like rent … waste management … the quality of the public entertainment and options we have in Oakland, all these different issues play into having a neighborhood that’s livable,” Khan-Afridi said. “That’s something that is very directly affected by municipal elections by people who are in charge of the county, the County Council and [county executive].” Headlining this year’s election is a rematch between Democrat Matt Dugan and Republican nominee Stephen Zappala for district attorney and a faceoff between Democrat Sara Innamorato and Republican Joe Rockey to replace outgoing County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Dugan bested Zappala, a lifelong Democrat, in the Democratic primary, prompting the career politician to run as a Republican instead. Voters also cast ballots for a new justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and a slew of  mayors, councilmembers and commissioners across the county’s 130 municipalities. “When it comes to young voters there’s a lot we want to see and I think it translates into a general frustration with the lack of change,” Khan-Afridi said, noting that some of the candidates fall short in representing young voters.

Photo credit: Betul Tuncer/Pittsburgh Media Partnership