Allegheny County Councilor Liv Bennett withdrew from the race for Allegheny County Executive on Friday. She also ended her county council re-election bid.
Elections Division Manager David Voye confirmed her withdrawal and noted that her name will no longer appear on the May 16 primary ballot.
Bennett did not respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
On March 7, the deadline to file election petitions for the primary, Bennett was gathering her paperwork and filing fees up to and beyond the 5 p.m. cutoff point. Her rival for the District 13 county council seat, Democrat David Bonaroti, challenged her petitions earlier this month. The challenge noted that some material was time-stamped after 5 p.m. and alleged multiple defects including some invalid signatures.
Bonaroti’s challenge took issue with only Bennett’s eligibility to run for county council, not county executive.
It’s unclear whether the challenge contributed to her decision to withdraw.
Bennett has served on county council since 2020.
Current County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is term-limited, but six Democrats and one Republican are currently in the race to succeed him.
