Michael Brendan Diven (March 27, 1970 – August 18, 2020) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 22nd District. He was defeated in 2006.

Early life and education

Diven was born, on March 27, 1970, in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, the son of Joey Diven, a police officer and famed local boxer. Diven earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

in 1993.

Career

After graduating from college, Diven served as a staff assistant to

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

Commissioner

Tom Foerster Thomas J. Foerster (April 17, 1927 – January 11, 2000) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. Foerster held a variety of political positions in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and began his career as part ...

from 1993 through 1996. In 1997, he was elected to represent 4th district of the Pittsburgh City Council at the age of 27, which made him the youngest person elected to that body at that time. At various times, he served as a member of the Brookline Area Community Council, as chairman of the Pittsburgh Public Safety Services committee, and on the board of the

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

Allegheny County Cooperative Extension. He co-founded the Police and Communities Together (PACT) organization and served as president of the South Pittsburgh Housing Task Force. He served on the board of the

Allegheny County Sanitary Authority Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (also known as ALCOSAN) is a municipal authority in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania that provides wastewater treatment services to 83 communities, including the city of Pittsburgh. Its principal sewage treat ...

(Alcosan) until he was removed from the board in 2008 by Pittsburgh Mayor

Luke Ravenstahl Luke Robert Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980) is an American politician who served as the 59th Mayor of Pittsburgh from 2006 until 2014. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history in Septe ...

. Diven won election to the

in November 2000, following the resignation of Frank Gigliotti, who was convicted of soliciting bribes. During his tenure, Diven clashed with Jack Wagner,

Bill DeWeese H. William DeWeese (born April 18, 1950) is an American politician who is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, DeWeese served as the 135th Speaker of the Pennsylvania House from 1993 to ...

and the leadership of the House Democratic Caucus, who later backed Richard A. Nerone's unsuccessful primary challenge in 2004. Citing the primary challenge and frustrated by the leadership's reluctance to pursue some of his agenda, including making health care benefits less expensive for school districts, Diven became a Republican in January 2005. After he switched parties, the Democratic caucus fired his staff and cut the office phone lines. That April, he unsuccessfully ran for the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

seat left vacant by Jack Wagner's 2004 election as

Pennsylvania Auditor General The Pennsylvania auditor general is the chief fiscal officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1850. The current auditor general of Pennsylvania is Republican Timothy DeFoor. History The office of the audito ...

, in a race that included Mark Rauterkus (Libertarian), ultimately losing to Wagner-ally

Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020),

. In 2006, Diven was defeated by Jack Wagner's niece,

Chelsa Wagner Chelsa L. Wagner (born July 24, 1977) is an American politician currently serving as a Judge in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Wagner previously served as the Allegheny County Controller. She resi ...

. Diven returned to the Democratic party to run for District Justice in Pittsburgh in 2009, where he faced and lost to his former employee and successor in Pittsburgh City Council, Jim Motznik.

Death

Diven died in August 2020, aged 50.

Election history

References

External links

Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Michael Diven Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus - Rep. Mike Diven
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diven, Michael 1970 births 2020 deaths Pennsylvania Democrats Pennsylvania Republicans Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Pittsburgh Pittsburgh City Council members Duquesne University alumni 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly