In a season of sweeping political change, with long-established figures like Congressman Mike Doyle and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald departing from public life, John Weinstein says he offers something the county will need: experience.
Weinstein has, after all, served as the county treasurer for the entire 21st century. And while he is relinquishing that post to run as Allegheny County executive, he told WESA, “I don't need to be trained for this job. I could walk two doors down the hall, and step into the executive's office and operate this county because I understand it from the inside out. This is a $3 billion operation [and] I’ve worked with those budgets for 25 years. I know all the directors. I know the services we provide and how we can change.”
But he’s pledging a more moderate course than some other candidates, with a campaign that stresses law-and-order.
"You have to compromise, or you're like a hamster spinning in a wheel: You're not gaining any traction,” Weinstein said.
Much like District Attorney Steven Zappala, a political ally, Weinstein launched his 2023 campaign in part by channeling fears about a spike in crime in the city of Pittsburgh. “I'm not going to let the city of Pittsburgh, the vibrant heartbeat of our region, become a negative statistic in this country,” he said.
Policing is generally a city responsibility. But Weinstein said county police could “help do whatever we have to do to get drugs off the street.” He also said he was preparing plans to address homeless people suffering mental-health crises, as well as to revamp and reopen the shuttered Shuman Detention Center, whose license to operate was revoked in 2021.
“There’s nowhere to send these kids right now,” he said. He envisioned reopening Shuman through a public-private partnership, though he said that would not mean turning operations over to a private entity. “I want to make it an educational facility” and not just a holding place, he said.
Like other candidates for county executive, Weinstein expressed doubts about management at the beleaguered Allegheny County Jail. Asked about the performance of Warden Orlando Harper, he said “we probably do need a new warden” but added “I don’t want to … say I’m going to fire anyone when I’ve never sat down and talked to the man.” The larger issue, he said, was that the jail needs a director, like those that run other county departments, to handle administrative tasks.
“The warden should be responsible for the prisoners and the guards,” he said, and “not [be] sidetracked by administrative paperwork.”
Weinstein’s bid for county executive was a source of speculation for Democratic politicos, in part because he kept his plans close to his vest. Weinstein himself said he originally had doubts about running, in part because of his two children: “I don’t want to miss things in their life,” he said.
But then, he said, “it hit me like an epiphany: They’re the reason I should be running – for my kids and all the kids of this region. They need someone that’s going to step up for their future.”
And Weinstein said he had no intention of trying to hold onto his treasurer post if the county executive bid fails. “I am all in for this,” he said. “In four months, my future in county government will be decided by the voters.”
(So far, only one candidate has emerged to declare an interest in the Treasurer’s post: Erica Brusselars. But Weinstein said, “I’m sure there will be more.” One possibility is his trusted deputy, Janice Vinci, though Weinstein said she had not decided on a run yet.)
But Weinstein wields considerable political clout from his base in and around the Chartiers Valley, and has already been endorsed by building trades unions.
He’s also widely credited with helping to cobble together a majority on Allegheny County Council that joins progressive Democrats like Bethany Hallam and more conservative members like president Pat Catena. While it sometimes seems those factions mostly share a hostility to Fitzgerald, the majority has pressed for a number of reforms.
He also touts his decade of work as a board member and board chair of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, or ALCOSAN. On his watch, the wastewater treatment agency laid plans for a $2 billion upgrade of the regional sewer system to prevent raw sewage from being discharged into waterways during heavy rains.
Originally “there was no green initiative in that plan whatsoever,” said Weinstein, who described himself as a “big green guy.” But he said he agreed with environmentalists who wanted more green solutions to help soak up rainwater before it entered the system. “Now the plan is full of green initiatives,” he said.
Environmentalists want the agency to invest more in the approach. (Critics of the plan have included state Rep. Sara Innamorato, who herself is running for the county executive seat.) But Weinstein said, “You can do green to a point where it doesn’t make financial sense.”
Weinstein also steered a middle course on air quality concerns, saying that “everyone needs clean air” but adding, “I want to find that balance, so we’re not pushing businesses out.” Asked what side of the balance he thought the county was leaning on now, he said, “I think we’re probably tipping on the side of the environmental” concerns.
In any case, he said, on such crucial issues residents and officials “need a partner and a champion. And the relationships I’ve built could really be beneficial to the region.”
