Dave Madsen. Photo by Dani Fresh.
Dave Madsen had just moved into his new district office in Steelton.
The phones still weren’t completely set up, the sign out front still displayed his predecessor’s name, and he didn’t have any bottles of water to offer visitors yet. Everything was moving at high speed.
Madsen hadn’t even officially taken office yet, and people were already dropping in and calling.
Still, he felt prepared.
He thought of the men who mentored him growing up—Black men in the community who inspired him to get to where he is now.
“I don’t want to let them down, but I also feel confident in the sense that they instilled a lot of knowledge in me,” Madsen said.
The former Harrisburg City Council member has high hopes for the 104th district, which he now serves as a Democratic member of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives. He wants to make strides in areas like public safety, climate change and education. But maybe even more importantly, he sees his role as helping residents with the less flashy, regular day-to-day issues like finding tax forms or applying for home energy assistance.
“It’s not the most exciting stuff in the world, but it’s really important to their quality of life,” he said.
Madsen is one of two new state legislators, both Black men, from the immediate Harrisburg area who were sworn in last month after a state redistricting process caused significant changes to district boundaries. Madsen’s redrawn 104th House district now includes the east portion of Harrisburg and several neighboring towns, including Steelton, where his office is located.
Just outside Harrisburg is the newly redrawn 105th House district, which Democrat Justin Fleming, a former Susquehanna Township commissioner, represents. His district includes all of Susquehanna Township, Penbrook and parts of Lower Paxton Township.
Not only are Madsen and Fleming new in the House, but they also represent a significant change in their districts.
“We will both be the first Black men elected to represent Dauphin County in the legislature,” Madsen said. “You do feel a bit of pressure, at least I do, knowing that you carry that responsibility.”
Justin Fleming. Illustration by Dani Fresh.
Well Represented
The Harrisburg area’s two newest legislators are part of what has been called Pennsylvania’s most diverse class of freshman lawmakers. According to a recent Associated Press article, the redistricting process in the commonwealth “may have had a greater impact than anywhere else on diversifying the racial and ethnic makeup of the legislature.”
In addition to having a more diverse Assembly, the lawmakers bring representation to their culturally and ethnically diverse 104th and 105th districts.
Fleming remembered a story told to him by a volunteer at a polling place on Election Day. A mother with her young son, who is Black, had just finished voting.
“The mother tells our volunteer that he was so happy because it was the first time that they could vote for someone who looked like him,” Fleming said.
Fleming is a lifelong resident of Dauphin County and a long-time resident of Susquehanna Township. In the early years of his childhood, he was raised by a single dad in a low-income household. He remembers the days of using food vouchers and living in affordable housing and the stigma that came with both. However, his circumstances never defined his outlook on life. Fleming was studious, while also a bit of a class clown, he admitted.
After college at Millersville University, he worked a short stint in T.V. broadcasting and then served for several years as press secretary for various state agencies. For the majority of his career, he worked as government affairs/relations director for state organizations such as the National Association of Social Workers-PA Chapter and, most recently, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
According to Fleming, his background shaped his passion for working in government.
“When I look at my history, it was really government that helped me become the person I am today,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in service in some form or fashion.”
For the last eight years, Fleming sat on the Susquehanna Township board of commissioners, making strides in issues like walkability, responsible development and support for first responders in the community, he explained.
He hadn’t given much thought to running for state representative until he saw the preliminary redistricting map.
“Maybe subconsciously, I was preparing myself for an opportunity like this, but quite honestly, I never thought it would come,” he said. “I did not envision that redistricting would provide an opportunity for a Democrat to serve here, but here we are.”
See it, Be It
Nathaniel Gadsden, a Harrisburg poet and pastor, has worked with students for years, teaching them through his Writer’s Wordshop program. He has also served as a mentor for the Greater Harrisburg Area NAACP ACT-SO Achievement Program for youth.
Madsen still remembers the mentorship that Gadsden gave him as a participant in both programs when he was younger.
When working with students, Gadsden always tries to present them with role models who look like them. These days, he said that he has one more local figure to add to his list of examples.
“If you don’t see it, how can you be it?” he asked. “Dave is someone I can point to. He’s here in the community and still giving back.”
Madsen was born and raised in Middletown and returned to Harrisburg after attending college in Denmark, where he has dual citizenship, and later Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. He began his political career interning for state representative, congressional and gubernatorial campaigns and becoming the president of the local Pennsylvania Young Democrats chapter. Along the way, he got involved in the organized labor movement, becoming the community services and education director for the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in 2020.
Madsen also became known in the city for his role on Harrisburg City Council from 2017 to 2022. That position changed the way he viewed local government and shaped how he views his new role as state representative, he explained.
“It was a pleasure to serve along those folks that were so selfless and that made me want to be a better public servant,” he said.
In his new position, Madsen knows he has big shoes to fill, left behind by Rep. Patty Kim, who previously represented much of his district. He still has a lot of ground to cover with meeting residents, but he’s feeling positive about the community’s response thus far.
“I want to be out there educating and answering questions and just letting people get to know me,” he said. “So, expect to see me.”
Like Madsen, Fleming has hit the ground running, with hopes to “help as many people as possible,” he said. His top priorities include addressing income inequality, securing more funding for local school districts and improving healthcare, an issue that hits close to home for him, as his daughter has Type 1 diabetes.
But both of the new state representatives hope their presence in the House not only helps their constituents, but also generations to come.
“I hope that seeing me in this position can inspire people,” Fleming said. “People need to see that their government is representative of them.”
Madsen also sees this as an opportunity to introduce young people of color to a career path in local government.
“I’m able to say, I was where you are, and this is a space for people of color to succeed in, and, matter of fact, we need more people of color in these spaces to be a voice for our community,” he said. “Hopefully I can be that inspiration for the next generation.”
For more information or to contact Rep. Dave Madsen, visit www.pahouse.com/madsen.
For more information or to contact Rep. Justin Fleming, visit www.pahouse.com/fleming.
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