Cognetti, running in Pennsylvania swing district, touts herself as a champion of ‘transparency’
Scranton, Pa., mayor Paige Cognetti (D.) is running for Congress on a platform of “transparency” and as a working class champion, hammering her Republican opponent in Pennsylvania’s Eighth Congressional District for owning a “secret helicopter.” But Cognetti has secret assets of her own that she has not publicly disclosed.
Cognetti, a former Goldman Sachs banker, purchased a second home at the base of Elk Mountain Ski Resort for $121,000 in 2024, according to real estate records. The property sits inside the Village of Four Seasons, a gated community 30 minutes north of Scranton that calls itself “a Page From a Fairy Tale”—thanks to its three swimming pools, 12-acre lake, and proximity to the Endless Mountains.
Cognetti did not list the property on her most recent financial disclosures, undercutting a prominent theme in both her congressional and mayoral campaigns. “My public service career has been about bringing reform, transparency, and accountability to government,” says Cognetti, who was elected Scranton mayor in 2019 to replace Bill Courtright (D.) after his indictment on public corruption charges.
Cognetti would not be required to disclose her second home unless she uses it as an investment property. But the Democrat, who has embraced the nickname “Paige Against the Machine,” has criticized her opponent, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R., Pa.), of failing to disclose luxury assets of his own.
Cognetti blasted Bresnahan, who owns his family’s electrical contracting company, in her campaign launch video in September for owning a “secret helicopter.” Cognetti cited a report that Bresnahan purchased a $1 million helicopter in 2024 that he used for business purposes. Like Cognetti’s ski home, Bresnahan is not required to list the machine on his annual financial disclosure.
Cognetti’s ski house also cuts against her self-styled image as a blue collar champion.
“Our folk heroes are the workers,” Cognetti, who worked in the Goldman Sachs investment management division from 2014 to 2016, said in her campaign launch video. “People here work hard, and we stand tall.”
Cognetti has struggled to drive home that message thus far in the campaign. While Cognetti has landed an endorsement from the Pennsylvania State Education Association, Bresnahan has landed endorsements from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 163, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council, and other labor unions.
Cognetti is worth between $533,000 and $2.3 million, not counting real estate assets, according to her financial disclosure. Her husband owns a food store valued at more than $1 million, and takes home an annual income between $100,000 and $1 million, according to the disclosure. Cognetti has as much as $109,000 in a 401(k) account she established at Goldman Sachs, the disclosures show. Cognetti served as managing director for China operations at the Department of Treasury prior to that gig, according to her LinkedIn profile.
A Cognetti campaign spokeswoman said Cognetti does not rent out the ski property. “Paige Cognetti shares a 2019 Ford Edge with her mom, still has student loans, and owns a small property in Susquehanna County with a market value of roughly $120,000 that serves as a place for her and her husband to share the outdoors with their young daughters,” the spokeswoman said.