A number of Allegheny County Executive candidates came to McKeesport Wednesday night to talk about issues facing the Mon Valley and other eastern suburbs.
At a forum hosted by the Steel Rivers Council of Governments, Turtle Creek Valley Council of Governments and Tri-COG Land Bank, five of the Democrats and the lone Republican vying for the seat spoke about blight, post-industrial land development and other pressing problems for people in the area.
“The eastern suburban communities have more in common with one another than they have differences,” said An Lewis, a moderator at the event and the executive director of the Steel Rivers COG and Tri-COG Land Bank.
“By coming together, working together and partnering, we have a much bigger and more influential voice.”
According to the groups, 42% of all blighted properties in Allegheny County are in areas represented by the Steel Rivers and Turtle Creek Valley Councils of Governments.
Some candidates, including Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb, proposed creating a county-wide tax claim bureau. Under the current system, it can take years to purchase a blighted property, Lamb said.
“We need to find a way to more effectively and more efficiently bring marketable title back to these properties,” he said, noting the new department could help speed things up and make it easier for individuals, land banks and community groups to develop blighted properties.
Candidates also spoke in support of increased collaboration between the county executive’s administration and the county’s 130 municipalities.
Currently, COGs and municipal governments “are all fighting over the same pots of money,” said state Rep. Sara Innamorato.
“We, as the county, working in partnership with state and federal electeds, need to be able to draw down more money and support the cross municipal collaboration that you are already investing in.”
Joe Rockey, a former PNC executive and the only Republican in the race, was among several candidates who said they would support greater financial investments in COGs if elected.
“We should not have a lower standard in one part of our county than another part of our county,” Rockey said.
County Treasurer John Weinstein was one of several candidates who said they want to make the post-industrial sites spread across the Mon Valley “shovel-ready” for development.
“This is about relocating businesses to our region. This is about making things easy for businesses to come here,” he said.
Businessman Will Parker echoed the sentiment.
“We’ve just got to do something that's never been done to retain and sustain jobs here," he said.
When questions turned to the difficult job of balancing jobs and the environment, attorney Dave Fawcett brought up the necessity of holding U.S. Steel and other major polluters accountable for potential damages.
“They make a lot of money here, and you've got to work to enforce the law. But you can't have the health department causing a loss of jobs.
“And so you need to negotiate out a solution,” Fawcett said.
Democrats and Republicans will choose their candidates for county executive in the May 16 primaries.
