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Allegheny County Council races tend to be sleepier affairs than other local contests: Council members work part-time, and most balance day jobs with their government responsibilities.
But the 15-member body is poised to see significant turnover this year, as one of council’s first true progressives plans to step aside, along with its longest-serving Democrat and most prominent Republican.
In the six seats up for election this fall, three current office holders have decided not to run. Add to that another member who plans to resign next week, and a year from now, more than one-quarter of council members will be new faces.
By contrast, the 2023 elections — when nine seats were on the ballot — resulted in only two new members.
Incumbent Democrats Jack Betkowski of District 1, Anita Prizio of District 3, and Bob Macey of District 9 have decided not to run for reelection. And as first reported by KDKA TV, Republican at-large Sam DeMarco will depart to work as Southwestern Pennsylvania regional director for newly elected U.S. Sen. David McCormick.
Incumbents Pat Catena of District 8, Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis of District 9, and Bob Palmosina of District 12 all say they plan to run again.
Prizio was one of the first progressive voices on council when she was elected in 2017, and among the first local candidates to win with support from the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. She said she modeled her run after Bernie Sanders.
“I think I maybe captured the spirit of the time. It seemed like people were looking for change,” Prizio said. “I really don't know how I won. I think I surprised a lot of people.”
In office, Prizio supported county action to protect workers and the environment. And she arguably helped to usher other progressive into county government, which now include Councilors Bethany Hallam and Dan Grzybek, as well as Naccarati-Chapkis and County Executive Sara Innamorato.
But with progressives having taken the reins on council and in the county executive’s office, Prizio said, eight years in office “seems to suit me.”
“I think the county executive and the other members of council, they're fighting for the same thing that I was fighting for,” she said.
Betkowski simply said “it was time” to retire from public service after 10 years, which included one term on County Council and a stint as a Ross Township supervisor.
Macey, a conservative Democrat who spent nearly 20 years on council, said he hopes to spend more time with his family. In a statement announcing his decision, he said he hoped to “pass the baton to a younger generation.
“I feel I have accomplished all that was possible and needed in my district. However, there is so much-much more that needs to be done,” Macey said.
DeMarco wasn’t up for election this year, but his seat will be the first to be filled. He has taken a post working for McCormick, a move that has been expected since shortly after the Republican’s victory over Bob Casey was assured. Per county charter rules, council will choose a replacement of the same party as DeMarco, who held the GOP’s designated “at-large” seat on council. His replacement will hold the seat until the next municipal election.
The field of challengers for the other seats appears to be wide open. But prospective candidates have already tossed their hats into the ring to replace Betkowski in District 1, which includes Ross Township, airport-area suburbs such as Moon and Findlay and Ohio River communities such as Ben Avon and Emsworth.
Republican Tom Fodi announced his campaign this past Tuesday, and Democrat Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling will formally launch her bid at a kickoff event later this month.
Neither are strangers to local government. Fodi previously served on Bellevue Borough Council and has run for state House. Madonna-Emmerling is a Democratic organizer and door-knocker who twice ran unsuccessfully for Moon Township supervisor.
“I don't aspire, necessarily, to be an elected official or to be in charge,” said Madonna-Emmerling, who works in fundraising for the University of Pittsburgh. “But every time I have participated in this process, I have been able to help more people and bring more visibility to issues” of importance.
Fodi, a pastor working in hospice care, is hoping to flip District 1’s council seat for the GOP. Republicans are woefully outnumbered on council, currently holding just two of its 15 seats. But Fodi said Republican Joe Rockey won the district vote by 7 points in the 2023 county executive race. And he thinks voters may be ready for a change at a time when the county is in a “tailspin in terms of population loss, business loss, infrastructure crumbling.”
A likely issue in the district — and others on the ballot this year — is the county’s first property tax increase in more than a decade, a 36% bump backed by Innamorato.
Fodi said that although he was already considering a run, the tax hike influenced his decision to join the race. “The real focus in everyone's minds is, ‘Am I going to be waking up at the end of this coming year, seeing another tax increase?’” he said. “And so, my promise from the very get go is: ‘Not as far as I can help it.’”
Supporters of the hike, however, say it was inevitable after years of flat rates even as costs spiraled. Madonna-Emmerling said part of her job would be ensuring that money is put to good use in her district.
“Promising not to raise taxes forever was not realistic and led to sticker shock for a lot of people, especially in the suburbs,” she said. But “if we're going to be increasing the amount of money that we put in — because people do legitimately need more services — I want to be the people's voice to make sure that they're getting the services they need.”
