Joseph Preston Jr. came within 93 votes of losing his job two years ago. Now the state House veteran with a quarter-century in the job faces a trio of challengers in the April 22 Democratic primary.

Mr. Preston, 60, of East Liberty, said his verve is undiminished.

"Every morning I get a chance to get up and try to make a change," he said.

The question is whether voters in a district that has seen both positive and negative change during his tenure will decide it's time for new leadership.

That's the argument being made by Lucille Prater-Holliday, of Wilkinsburg, a member of that borough's Civil Service Commission.

"The priorities and values of our district are not reflected in the current leadership," she said.

Similarly, Todd E. Koger, a science teacher also living in Wilkinsburg, and William D. Anderson, a Homewood body shop owner, argue that it's time for new thinking.

A divided field usually favors the incumbent, and the $15,351 Mr. Preston's campaign had at year's end is that much more than his rivals have reported raising. Plus, he's touting state-aided development in East Liberty and neighborhood improvements like speed bumps in Wilkinsburg as evidence that Harrisburg is paying attention to his district.

Next up are Homewood and Larimer, each of which needs 150 new homes, he said.

"It's not about throwing money," he said of development. "It's about making the deal finally happen."

Last year, Mr. Preston faced a criminal charge lodged by a woman who said he hurt her in a June argument in his office. He was summarily convicted of harassment, but that was overturned on appeal in December. The woman filed a civil lawsuit for damages in a case that he said is "about money."

Ms. Prater-Holliday, 51, includes digs at the incident in her campaign material, calling for "stiffer penalties for law-breakers and lawmakers who commit domestic violence and other crimes." She criticized a 2004 law that made it easier for companies to shut off natural gas service, for which Mr. Preston voted. He has since tried unsuccessfully to amend it.

"The first thing that I would attempt to do is to make sure that the government reform that began in 2006 continues," she said, promising a bid for more "transparency" about legislative benefits like expense payments and state-provided cars.

She's been a flight attendant, pharmacy assistant, behavioral health and truancy specialist, and most recently a temporary employee. She ran unsuccessfully for district judge in 2005.

Mr. Anderson, 35, finished third in the district's 2006 House race, when Ed Gainey narrowly lost to Mr. Preston. Mr. Anderson finished eighth in a City Council race last year.

"Unless you correctly and fully fund education, you can't address any other problems," he said. He would tax chewing tobacco and slap an annual registration fee on handguns, and put the proceeds into schools.

Mr. Anderson is suing the city of Pittsburgh for what he considers a pattern of unnecessary searches of his body shop and home. He disputes the accuracy of delinquent property tax actions filed against him by the city, Pittsburgh Public Schools and Allegheny County. He pleaded guilty to drug charges twice in the 1990s.

Mr. Koger, 46, ran as a nonpartisan in 2006 and lost handily to Mr. Preston in the general election. He said he wants to win in part to "inspire the young black males to see honest change."

He'd start by pushing for "a constitutionally correct way" to track handguns. He said he wants to bring job-creating development -- but not the kind that is "further isolating the most needy" by hiding troubled neighborhoods behind pretty facades.

He has taught middle school science for the Duquesne City Schools since last year, and prior to that clerked in a law office. He attended the Duquesne University School of Law from 1987 through 1990, but did not get a law degree.

A property listed as his address on election filings has had liens filed against it nine times since 2001 for non-payment of fees or taxes owed to Wilkinsburg Borough and Wilkinsburg School District. He said the house is technically owned by his son.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he twice pleaded guilty to simple assault and harassment charges.

"You come across situations where you have to defend yourself," he said. "I think I have experienced some of the things that the most needy have experienced."

No Republican is running.