Paige Cognetti

Paige Cognetti
Cognetti in 2022
36th Mayor of Scranton
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 6, 2020
Preceded byWayne Evans (acting)
Personal details
Born1979 or 1980 (age 45–46)
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
PartyDemocratic (before 2019, 2021–present)
Independent (2019–2021)
SpouseRyan Cognetti
Children2
EducationUniversity of Oregon (BA)
Harvard University (MBA)

Paige Gebhardt Cognetti (born 1979/1980)[1] is an American politician serving as the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is the first woman to be mayor of the city and won her seat in a special election.[2][3] A member of the Democratic Party, she ran her first Scranton mayoral campaign as an Independent.

Early life and career

Cognetti was born in Eugene, Oregon. She graduated summa cum laude from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Romance Languages, and earned a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Cognetti started her career as an English teacher in Japan. She was a fundraiser for the Clinton and Obama 2008 campaigns and later served as an advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[4][5]

Political career

Cognetti was appointed to the Scranton School Board in 2017,[6] but later resigned in December 2018 to become a special assistant to Pennsylvania's then state auditor, Eugene DePasquale.[7] She has run on reform and pragmatism platforms; on the school board, she criticized Scranton's no-bid school bus contracts and unapproved payments to contractors.[8]

Mayor of Scranton

In 2019, Cognetti ran in the special election to finish the term of former Scranton mayor Bill Courtright, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges in July of that year.[9] Cognetti, previously a lifelong Democrat, ran as an independent after she deemed the closed caucus system of nomination used by the local Democratic Party as not in favor of the people. She focused on investments and budgets for local businesses, education, and infrastructure.[10] Cognetti won the special election with 36% of the vote.[3]

Cognetti ran for election to a full term in 2021 as a Democrat and won in a landslide.[11]

In 2024, President Joe Biden appointed Cognetti to the United States Trade Representative's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.[12]

2026 U.S. House campaign

On September 2, 2025, Cognetti announced a run for Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district in 2026, aiming to unseat Republican incumbent Representative Rob Bresnahan.[13][14]

Cognetti identified as a progressive independent in 2019.[15] Cognetti is involved with the Majority Democrats PAC.[16]

Personal life

She is married to Ryan Cognetti and has two children.[11][17]

Electoral history

2019 Scranton mayoral special election[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Paige Cognetti 5,849 36.52%
Independent Kyle Donahue 3,588 22.40%
Democratic Chris Cullen 2,567 16.03%
Republican Charlie Spano 2,468 15.41%
Independent Giovanni Piccolino 699 4.36%
Independent Gary St. Fleur 384 2.40%
Independent John Goshleski 76 0.47%
Write-in 387 2.42%
Total votes 16,018 100.00%
2021 Scranton mayoral Democratic primary election[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paige Cognetti (incumbent) 7,870 71.36%
Democratic John Murray 3,119 28.28%
Write-in 39 0.35%
Total votes 11,028 100.00%
2021 Scranton mayoral election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paige Cognetti (incumbent) 9,851 72.51%
Republican Darwin Lee Shaw II 3,175 23.37%
Write-in 79 0.58%
Total votes 13,585 100.00%
2025 Scranton mayoral Democratic primary election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paige Cognetti (incumbent) 6,271 75.52
Democratic Bob Sheridan 1,865 22.46
Write-in 168 2.02
Total votes 8,304 100.00

References

  1. ^ "Cognetti becomes Scranton's first female mayor". November 6, 2019.
  2. ^ "Scranton became shorthand for the past. Its reality is far more complicated". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cole, Devan (November 6, 2019). "First woman elected mayor of Scranton, as an independent after sparring with Democratic machine". CNN. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  4. ^ "Mayor of Scranton to Deliver Johnson College's 2020 Commencement Address". Johnson College of Technology. March 11, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Now the mayor of Scranton, PA, Paige Gebhardt Cognetti's passion for equity inspired by her time in CHC". Clark Honors College. June 9, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  6. ^ Buynovsky, Sarah (November 5, 2019). "Paige Cognetti Named First Female Mayor of Scranton". WNEP-TV. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  7. ^ "Cognetti Resigns From Scranton School Board To Work For State Auditor General". AP NEWS. December 12, 2018. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Scranton School Board To Ask District Attorney To Investigate Mechanic Insurance". AP NEWS. May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Lange, Stacy (January 6, 2020). "Paige Cognetti Sworn In as Scranton's First Female Mayor". WNEP-TV. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Scranton Mayor-Elect Paige Cognetti offers an object lesson for Philly politics". The Philadelphia Citizen. November 15, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Lange, Stacy (November 3, 2021). "Mayor Paige Cognetti has declared victory in Scranton". WNEP-TV. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "President Biden appoints Scranton Mayor Cognetti as a member of the Advisory Committee". WNEP-TV. February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Svirnovskiy, Gregory (September 2, 2025). "Scranton mayor launches House campaign, goes after Rob Bresnahan's stock trades". Politico. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  14. ^ Terruso, Julia (September 2, 2025). "Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti launches run for Congress, blasting Rep. Rob Bresnahan's stock trading". Inquirer.com. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  15. ^ Cole, Devan (November 6, 2019). "First woman elected mayor of Scranton, as an independent after sparring with Democratic machine". CNN. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  16. ^ Schneider, Aliya (July 13, 2025). "These local lawmakers think they can help solve the Democratic Party's identity crisis". Inquirer.com. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  17. ^ "About the Mayor". ScrantonPa.gov. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "EL45.pdf" (PDF). Lackawanna County, PA. March 9, 2022. p. 8. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  19. ^ "Summary Results Report MUNICIPAL ELECTION May 18, 2021 CERTIFIED RESULTS Lackawanna County" (PDF). Lackawanna County, PA. June 3, 2021. p. 30. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "2021GeneralSummary_Certified.pdf" (PDF). Lackawanna County, PA. December 3, 2021. p. 22. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  21. ^ "Summary Results Report PRIMARY ELECTION May 20, 2025" (PDF). Lackawanna County, PA. June 6, 2025. p. 19. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
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