Women Running for Erie

Contributed // Chloe Forbes

The Democratic candidate for Erie Mayor Daria Devlin will call upon her experience working in Erie's Public Schools – she feels our public school system is a microcosm of the issues facing our city at large. // Running for county executive against the Republican incumbent Brenton Davis, Christina Vogel hopes to reshape and refine the budgeting process to make it work for Erie County residents. She plans to work cooperatively with council as well as with the incoming mayor to help make Erie a thriving place for the next generation.

The November elections are approaching fast and candidates are looking toward their potential years in office. Democratic nominee for county executive Christina Vogel and Democratic nominee for mayor Daria Devlin face different challenges for the last leg of their campaigns, but envision similar goals for Erie as a whole.

Vogel describes her upbringing as challenging, raised by a single father from infancy. Despite that, she speaks fondly of the people that helped her grow into the person she has become: "All of these people kind of stepped in along the way to help me. I had a bus driver that helped, I had teachers, I had people from church, I had my friends' parents. So that trust in a larger community was really important to me." Since moving to Erie 12 years ago with her husband and three children, Vogel has intentionally set out to be an active part of the Erie community. She participated in the PTO at Fairview Elementary School for 10 years, became a Girl Scout Troop Leader, opened and operates two Donatos Pizza franchise locations, and is now finishing a six-year term on the Board of Trustees at Erie County Community College. "All of those things were pieces to build a foundation for my kids."

She decided to run for the county executive office after disagreeing with the way the county was run by Republican incumbent Brenton Davis. "I had spent all my time and money and resources and heart and soul to kind of build this place, and he was, I felt, a direct threat to all of that," Vogel said. Her opponent has clashed with county council over distributing funds without council's approval and budget vetoes, which led to lawsuits against Davis in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Vogel says the legal fees from these lawsuits are "all county tax dollars that are going to the solicitors because they're fighting each other." If elected, Vogel plans on creating a quarterly advisory council to ensure that there are no discrepancies in the budget. "Just like you have quarterly earnings in a business," Vogel explained. "Erie can't afford four more years of Brenton Davis. Literally."

Mayoral nominee Daria Devlin also spoke to the power of a proactive economic plan and that working with the county executive can address issues within the city. "My concern with the county's budget is that the county is the holder of most of the health and human service dollars for the entire county," Devlin said. "We need to work with the county to make sure that those dollars are being lined up with these efforts. And if they're having budget problems, then that's going to hurt our ability to do that." Devlin said she is prepared and willing to work with the county executive on funding allocation regardless of who takes office in November, but that "the opportunities for collaboration with a county executive like Christina Vogel could really move the community forward."

The mayoral nominee has even more plans to improve the City of Erie. Devlin was born and raised on the lower east side and sees potential in the city that helped make her who she is. After a career on the board in Erie's Public Schools as the director of communications and facing the budget crisis in the school district, Devlin saw firsthand how much local and state officials affected the institutions in the city. "When we were fighting for funding, it was our local and state officials that we needed help from. It wasn't D.C. It wasn't the federal government. It really opened my eyes to the critical nature of the elections and these elected officials," Devlin said.

She explained that many of the issues that she and other school officials see among students are consequences of the issues in the Erie community. "These are very bright, very talented kids, but they're struggling and they need support," she said. "The schools are a mirror of our community. It's not that the schools have issues, it's that we as a community have issues related to poverty and trauma that just roll into our schools and impact the ability of our students to succeed."

Devlin said she is committed to working with the superintendent and the Chamber of Commerce to address community issues and boost mental and behavioral support for public school children. In light of the death of Marchello Woodard, an unarmed Black man shot and killed by a Pennsylvania state parole officer on July 2 and the mounting political tension nationally, communities are fractured. "It's important to have open and consistent conversations to bring groups together, whether that's the police and members of the community, or whether it's disparate groups within the community," Devlin said. "I think that it's a leader's job to have those conversations, and that's going to be a critical part of my administration."

Vogel shared similar sentiments, highlighting the divisions between the east side and west side of Erie and how local officials can work to provide dignity and safety to everyone in the county. "With how divided it has been, the escalation, rhetoric, and tension, it does a disservice to all of us," she said. "I think that you fix that by meeting people where they are, understanding what their challenges are, what their frustrations are, and working with the people who are already in those phases to figure out real solutions."

Devlin has been invested in understanding community challenges by attending city council meetings regularly and reviewing the city's budget, preparing to start working with Erie on day one. "I've done the work and I'll continue to do the work. I've never done anything halfway. I will give this city everything I have because I love it so much. And I really believe its best days are ahead."

Oct. 20, 2025 is the last day to register to vote before the Nov. 4 election. Visit pavoterservices.pa.gov to register. To learn more about Christina Vogel's campaign, visit christinavogel.com. To learn more about Daria Devlin's campaign, visit dariaforerie.com

Alana Sabol can be reached at alana@eriereader.com