Margo L Davidson
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 164th district
In office
January 4, 2011 (2011-01-04) – July 22, 2021 (2021-07-22)
Preceded byMario Civera
Succeeded byGina Curry
Personal details
Born (1962-09-27) September 27, 1962
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRobert
Children4
Residence(s)Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
Alma materTemple University

Margo Lomax Davidson (born September 27, 1962) is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 164th Legislative District from 2011 until her resignation on July 22, 2021 due to criminal charges. The district included parts of Upper Darby Township, and the boroughs of East Lansdowne and Millbourne.

Early life and education

The oldest of three children, Davidson was born in West Philadelphia, where she and her siblings were raised by their single mother.[1] She graduated from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in 1980.[2] The first in her family to graduate college, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Temple University in 1988.[2]

Career

She began her career as a broadcast journalist, hosting a show on WDAS and often covering politics.[3] She also started two non-profit organizations: the Anti-drug and Alcohol Crusaders, which offers programs for children whose parents are struggling with addiction, and the African American Female Entrepreneurs Alliance, which focuses on small business development.[3] She worked on Barack Obama's presidential campaign during the 2008 election, traveling as far as Montana to work for the campaign.[1]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Davidson announced her candidacy for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after longtime Republican incumbent Mario Civera was elected to the Delaware County Council. Civera eventually resigned his state House seat, and Davidson defeated Republican school board member Maureen Carey in the general election. She was just the third person to hold this seat but the first Democrat, first woman, and first African American to represent the 164th district.[3]

Davidson assumed office on January 4, 2011.[4]

Controversies

On October 28, 2016, Davidson was evicted from her campaign office in Lansdowne, Delaware County. The landlord filed suit demanding $2,796.77. He was awarded the judgement by a district judge in Upper Darby. Davidson filed a countersuit that was ultimately dismissed by the court.[5]

Davidson was charged in 2018 for two accidents while using a taxpayer-funded vehicle. The story went national after yc.news announced charges had been filed against Davidson for crashing her taxpayer-funded vehicle while leaving a political fundraiser February 3, 2018 in Concord Township, Delaware County.[6] After further investigation, yc.news discovered Davidson was involved in a second accident one month prior on January 11, 2018 where Pennsylvania State Police informed the media outlet that Davidson had fled the scene of the crash.[7] Shortly after the news broke, it was picked up by Philly.com and distributed nationally.[8] According to the Associated Press, Davidson was driving under a suspended license on all accidents involving the taxpayer-funded vehicle.[9]

On April 10, 2018, Pennsylvania State Representative Brad Roae and State Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill proposed legislation to rid lawmakers of all state-lease vehicles, citing the two accidents Margo Davidson was involved in that year.[10]

Fraud charges and resignation

On July 22, 2021, Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced charges against Davidson for stealing from the Commonwealth by filing fraudulent overnight per diem requests and various other expenses through the State House Comptroller's Office as well as hindering a state prosecution.[11][12][13] A grand jury found that Davidson had requested overnight expenses for nights she did not spend in Harrisburg, and received personal reimbursements from the Commonwealth for expenses that had been paid for by her campaign. She was also charged with Election Code violations arising from failure to report campaign finance information, as well as soliciting a witness to lie during the course of the investigation. Davidson was reimbursed by the state for out-of-pocket expenses incurred during official events and trips, despite also being reimbursed for those same expenses by her campaign. She was charged with misdemeanor charges of Theft, Solicitation to Hinder Apprehension, and Election Code Violations. She waived her preliminary hearing, and has paid the restitution of $6,925. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General James Price.[11] Davidson resigned from the State House after accepting responsibility for the charges.[11][14][13]

2018 Congressional bid

Davidson ran as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district during the 2018 primary, the primary and general election were won by Mary Gay Scanlon.

Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mary Gay Scanlon 16,804 28.4
Democratic Ashley Lunkenheimer 9,044 15.3
Democratic Richard Lazer 8,892 15.0
Democratic Molly Sheehan 6,099 10.3
Democratic Greg Vitali 5,558 9.4
Democratic Lindy Li 4,126 7.0
Democratic Theresa Wright 3,046 5.2
Democratic Thaddeus Kirkland 2,327 3.9
Democratic Margo L. Davidson 2,275 3.9
Democratic Larry Arata 913 1.5
Total votes 59,084 100.0

Election results

2010

PA House election, 2010:
Pennsylvania House, District 164
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Margo L. Davidson 10,083 53.65
Republican Maureen Carey 8,711 46.35
Margin of victory 1,372 7.3
Turnout 18,794 100

2012

PA House election, 2012:
Pennsylvania House, District 164
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Margo L. Davidson 17,240 66.6
Republican Earl Toole 8,649 33.4
Margin of victory 8,591 33.2 Increase 12.95
Turnout 25,889 100

2014

PA House election, 2014:
Pennsylvania House, District 164
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Margo L. Davidson 12,272 80.1
Republican Saud Siddiqui 3,056 19.9
Margin of victory 9,216 60.2 Increase 13.5
Turnout 15,328 100

2016

PA House election, 2016:
Pennsylvania House, District 164
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Margo L. Davidson 20,448 79.04
Republican Inderjit Singh Bains 5,423 20.96
Margin of victory 15,025 58.14 Decrease 1.06
Turnout 25,871 100

References

  1. 1 2 Farrell, Joelle (January 24, 2011). "Delaware County's Rep. Davidson blazed a trail of firsts". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  2. 1 2 "Margo L. Davidson". Pennsylvania General Assembly.
  3. 1 2 3 "Rep. Margo Davidson". Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
  4. ↑ "SESSION OF 2011 - 195TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. January 4, 2011.
  5. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: State Rep. Margo Davidson EVICTED from Campaign Office – YC.NEWS". YC.NEWS. October 28, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ "State Police: State Rep. Margo Davidson can't perform her job .. on a suspended license". YC.NEWS. February 14, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Delco Rep. Davidson charged while driving with suspended license in taxpayer-funded car.. again – YC.NEWS". YC.NEWS. February 14, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Police: State Rep. Margo Davidson did 'hit and run'". Philly.com. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Lawmaker charged in hit-and-run with suspended license". AP News. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Proposed bill does away with state-funded vehicle leases for lawmakers". WPMT FOX43. April 10, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 "State Rep. Charged With Stealing From Commonwealth Using Reimbursement Scheme, Hindering State Prosecution". Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  12. ↑ Couloumbis, Angela; Vella, Vinny (July 22, 2021). "Pa. state lawmaker from Delaware County charged with theft after years-long investigation". Spotlight PA. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  13. 1 2 Prose, J. D. (July 22, 2021). "Pa. lawmaker resigns after being charged with stealing public funds, asking witness to lie". Erie Times-News. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  14. ↑ Rose, Alex (July 23, 2021). "Democratic State Rep. Davidson quits after being charged with theft". Daily Local News. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
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