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The special election to replace former state House member Sara Innamorato is taking place so quickly that it is all but impossible to observe the norms of democracy. If a forum held July 25 is any indication, for example, the five Democratic hopefuls seeking to replace her haven’t even had time to develop a festering hatred for each other.
The roughly hour-long event, held Tuesday at the Teamsters Temple in Lawrenceville, ended with a group photo of the candidates smiling side-by-side, after a friendly discussion in which they each pledged to continue Innamorato’s legacy as a staunch progressive in Harrisburg.
The candidates had formally entered the race only the day before, after all — though most had been discretely circulating their names since Innamorato won the Democratic nomination for county executive this spring. And because special elections have no primaries, the 119 members of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee who represent the district will announce their pick to be the party’s nominee this Saturday. Voters will have their say in the Sept. 19 special election itself. But the Democratic nominee will have a strong advantage in a deep-blue district.
The special election is being held 60 days after Innamorato resigned last week — the fastest turnaround time allowed by state law. As Innamorato herself told the audience Tuesday, the timing was deliberate. Democrats had a one-seat majority in the House, so her departure leaves the 203-member body tied. But the House isn’t scheduled to return from summer recess until Sept. 26, so as Innamorato put it, “You don't have to worry about being at 101-101” for long.
Innamorato, whose county executive bid must still overcome that of Republican challenger Joe Rockey in November, added that having the election conducted in September also means “we can have a really smooth transition because I think I’ll be tied up a little bit, come January.”
The downside of this process is the public has little time to vet candidates, or for policy differences between them to emerge. The nominating process does include a failsafe: The state Democratic Party’s executive committee has the ultimate say in choosing a nominee, and it could reverse a problematic pick. But such a move would be even more removed from the public and increase the risk of bad feelings.
All this is not just hard on reporters looking for a story. Had this past winter’s special election to replace the late Anthony DeLuca proceeded this quickly, its committee members might well have recommended a candidate whose positions on abortion or the 2020 presidential race were out of step with those of the party — without even having had time to air those concerns.
Still, such an outcome seems less likely in District 21, where candidates profess support for Innamorato’s agenda, which backs affordable housing and economic justice along with a liberal approach to concerns such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Elizabeth Dunn serves on the school board of the Shaler Area School District and has worked in social services, making her the only candidate in the race to hold elected office. She’s also served on the Democratic Committee, helping to turn Shaler blue.
Fellow Shaler resident Josh Fleitman is the campaign director for gun-control advocacy group CeaseFirePA. He previously worked for former state Sen. Pam Iovino and other Democrats.
Robert Parkinson Helwig of Polish Hill previously provided constituent service for then-state Rep. Summer Lee. He works for the law firm of Kline & Specter on legal action against the makers of the weed-killer Roundup.
Lawrenceville’s Lindsay Powell works at the nonprofit InnovatePGH after serving in the office of former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, who appointed her to the board of the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
North Sider Chris Rosselot, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, works as policy director for the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group. He previously ran for Pittsburgh City Council.
Special elections in these circumstances are often shaped less by what you believe than by where you live and who you know, with committee members getting lobbied by allies of the candidates.
Dunn is being supported by Allegheny County Council member Bethany Hallam, for example, while Powell has been cheered by former colleagues in the Peduto administration. Fleitman and Rosselot have received warm words from county council member Tom Duerr and likely future city council member Khari Mosely, respectively.
Innamorato is staying neutral. But no matter who wins, a look around at Tuesday’s forum confirmed how her political rise benefited from, and helped encourage, a change in the party itself.
More than 50 people attended the gathering. Assuming most, if not all, of them were committee people — WESA didn’t check the back of their skulls to confirm everyone had their neural implants — there were obvious signs of the party’s generational change. Within the district and countywide, the Democratic committee’s make-up has become more diverse, more progressive and frequently more youthful. And the dynamic is visible not just in famously trendy Lawrenceville but in places such as Shaler as well.
These were committeepeople who cheered when party leaders reminded them that Democrats would use ranked-choice voting to select a nominee Saturday. That process requires voters to rank their choices, so that if no one wins an outright majority, the count begins to include voters’ back-up picks as well.
The approach was used to good effect by the party to pick nominees for this winter’s three special elections. At the time, it seemed like the kind of innovation local Democrats had long resisted. Now — in part because this is the fourth special election county Democrats have gone through this year — it is starting to feel routine.
And from the perspective of party leaders, who’ve also endured a bruising primary fight for county executive, well … it may not be the worst thing if the lone reporter covering a candidate forum drives home, wondering what the hell to write about.
