Six years ago, in his first run for office, Jake Wheatley knocked off a longtime representative of the 19th District in the state House. Now he is the veteran facing a newcomer, Deidra L. Washington, who left her job as site manager for the Pittsburgh Housing Authority to run for the office.

Mr. Wheatley, 36, of the Hill District said he has learned the lay of the land in Harrisburg and is in a good position to advance important issues. He puts education at the top of his list, calling it "my single most important issue." He also advocates universal health coverage as a right of citizenship and wants to leverage state dollars for economic development for his district.

Ms. Washington, 37, of the Hill District was Mr. Wheatley's office manager for several months during his first term. He says he asked her to leave; she says she does not want to discuss her reasons for departing.

The challenger, who has been a Democratic committee member since 2002, said she is running for the party nomination in the April 22 primary because she believes Mr. Wheatley has not been involved enough in the district and has been difficult to meet with. She came close to capturing the backing of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee in February, losing to Mr. Wheatley in a 55-52 vote.

There are no Republican candidates on the primary ballot in the 19th District, which includes Downtown, the Hill District, North Side, South Side, Allentown, Hazelwood, the Bluff, Knoxville, Beltzhoover, Manchester, Arlington, Arlington Heights and West, South and North Oakland.

The planned arena that will be home to the Pittsburgh Penguins has been the subject of intense debates in the Hill District. Mr. Wheatley, a former aide to Pittsburgh City Councilman Sala Udin, is aligned with ministers in a group recently named the Hill Faith and Justice Alliance; Ms. Washington is a member of the One Hill Community Benefits Coalition.

We don't agree with Mr. Wheatley's view that a development fund controlled by the community should be part of the arena deal, but he has taken solid positions in favor of expanded health-care coverage, increased funding for early childhood education, handgun controls and an indoor workplace smoking ban with no exceptions.

Although his office is on Centre Avenue, he has made a point of periodically sending his staff to temporary locations elsewhere in the district to provide better constituent service.

He has earned the chance for a fourth term in the Legislature, so the Post-Gazette endorses Jake Wheatley for the Democratic nomination.