Meet Kate Lovelace
ENDORSED BY STEEL CITY STONEWALL DEMOCRATS, ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE, ALLEGHENY-FAYETTE LABOR, and UNITED MINEWORKERS OF AMERICA
To hear more about what Kate believes in and what she stand for, check out these links:
S1:E10 Kate Lovelace - The Paul Spradley Show | Podcast on Spotify
When Someone Offends-Two Old Sexperts: Talking Sexuality & D (amazon.co.uk)
“This system is designed to institutionalize poverty and criminalize mental illness; that’s what it is, that’s what it seems to be here for.” - Kate Lovelace, with Dr. Paul Spradley, 2019
Kate Lovelace (she/her/hers) was raised in Highland Park, started her family in Upper Lawrenceville, and returned to Highland Park in 2015.
Kate graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University Heinz School, and University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Prior to becoming an attorney, Kate worked at Pressley Ridge with autistic children, Allegheny County Department of Human Services, and Community Care Behavioral Health Organization.
As an attorney, Kate worked as an adult and juvenile public defender, a parent attorney, a supervising attorney at Duquesne Law School Youth Advocacy Clinic, a defense attorney in psychiatric hospitals, and teaches a class at City of Bridges High School. Kate has successfully defended a number of individuals and families with hidden disabilities all around Southwestern Pennsylvania, received the Justice Award from the Autism Connection of Pennsylvania, and serves on the Autism and the Courts task force in Allegheny County.
She has served on many boards dedicated to improving the lives of children in Allegheny County. In doing this work, she realized that parents were struggling to defend criminal charges while trying to rebuild their family and having one team of attorneys would reduce the trauma to the family as well as the length of court time a family spends in "the system." In 2022, Kate created the first free, holistic legal clinic for parents and families in Allegheny County courts.
Kate lives in Highland Park with her husband, Webster, and their twins, Wally and Betty Lou. Her hobbies include New York Times crossword puzzles, Scandinavian thrillers on Netflix, and getting people the help they need.
EQUITY EMPATHY EXPERIENCE
EQUITY EMPATHY EXPERIENCE
KATE’S FOCUS AREAS
Continue to reduce our reliance on cash bail. Statistics show that cash bail has little to no impact on whether someone returns for their hearings. Simultaneously, studies show that the burden that cash bail imparts is felt most by our most vulnerable community members. The courts have better tools to ensure public safety than cash bail.
Reduce the school-to-prison pipeline for youth with hidden disabilities. Kate’s background working closely with disabled and special needs communities has uniquely prepared her to focus on ways to eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline for all of our children. By focusing on these under-served populations, Kate will bring creative and evidence-based solutions to the courts.
Evictions tear apart communities and Kate is committed to working hand in hand with landlords and tenants in order to find ways to keep our community members in their homes whenever possible. In Allegheny County, evictions disproportionately impact single, Black women with children under the age of 18. Kate is deeply committed to ensuring that everyone receives a fair chance at impartial justice.
In Her Own Words…
Welcome, neighbor. My name is Kate Lovelace (she/her/hers) and I’m running to be your next Magisterial District Judge.
I'm a long time Highland Park resident, Democratic Committee member, attorney, advocate, and mother. For over 20 years I have been working with populations in OUR community who are at high risk for interacting with the courts. I proudly served as an Assistant Public Defender in Allegheny County, which has allowed me to earn extensive experience in the magisterial, criminal, and juvenile courts. I also have a background working with disabled community members and their families. In 2022, I paired these experiences by opening a free, holistic legal clinic for parents struggling to reunify their families due to complicated legal issues and a need for a true advocacy team. I do this work because nothing is more important than making sure the most marginalized in our community receive the best representation.
I’m running for Magistrate District Judge because I believe Allegheny County is ready to address what I call system-burden: the total, cumulative consequences of court system interaction on both the individual and the community including health, social, and financial costs. In order to truly keep our communities safe, research and statistics support the decriminalization of minor offenses, confronting the racial bias in our traffic stops, and the overall reduction of the use of cash bail. Magistrates are also the first stop in housing court, which is deeply important as studies indicate single, Black women with children under the age of eighteen continue to be evicted at rates higher than any other population in our community. Furthermore, our courts continue to criminalize disabled members of our community for their lived actions as disabled people and manifestations of disabilities. Too many families are facing steep fines and consequences for unpaid fines when they feel pressured to work things out at the Magistrate. I want people in front of me to feel heard, respected, and treated fairly.
Our families and our citizens are the backbone of Allegheny County. My entire career has been dedicated to improving their lives.
As Magistrate District Judge, I plan to focus on empathy and equity while pulling from my decades of experience in the legal field. I’ve represented hundreds of children and adults in Southwestern Pennsylvania in every single magistrate court in Allegheny County on all types of charges.
Many in our community already know how justice is imparted based on race and class. Many more are becoming more aware of these inequities and deep, systemic problems. I plan to continue the efforts that have been made to treat cash bail as a last resort, interrupt the school to prison pipeline (beginning with disabled children), and make substantial efforts to keep people in their homes. No one should face the undue burden of bail or fine while struggling to put food on the table, pay rent, or otherwise providing for themselves and their families.
What I’m fighting for is practical, evidence-based, and fair. It’s time to center equity, empathy, and experience in our courts.
I hope that you’ll join me.
Kate Lovelace