Appeals of Allegheny County property assessments, unleashed by a lawsuit, are starting to bite into the revenues of governments, notably in already strained Mon Valley communities. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has stayed above water, because rising residential value has outstripped slashed skyscraper tax bills — so far.

Unbalanced
How property tax assessments create winners and losers

As thousands of pending appeals threaten to upend municipal and school budgets, County Executive Sara Innamorato is taking a cautious path on one of her key campaign planks supporting routine countywide reassessments.

A reassessment would come with political costs for Innamorato and monetary costs for some individual property owners. (It could also cost her personally, by boosting the low tax bill on her Upper Lawrenceville house.) But experts say it’s the cure for a defective system that currently overtaxes some and undertaxes others.

Even with most of last year’s appeals as-yet undecided, some municipalities saw a drop in taxable assessed value in the last two years, with much of the downturn coming in Mon Valley communities that are hurting economically. Fifty of the county’s 130 municipalities lost taxable value since the start of 2022; Homestead (10%), West Homestead (6%) and Clairton (4%) saw the biggest percentages of their tax base disappear.

Property owners filed an unusually large number of assessment appeals last year. That’s because a court ordered a change in the math used to calculate assessments determined by appeals, making it more favorable to owners.

Owners of large commercial buildings appealed en masse and are expected to win significant cuts to their assessed values, lowering their tax bills. Already, three of the dozens of Downtown towers have won appeals and seen significant tax relief. 

When big property owners saw the new tax math, “they jumped on it,” said Dominick Gambino, a local government consultant who managed the county’s assessment office from 2001 to 2003. He added that yet another change in the tax math, taking effect this year, could cause a fresh round of appeals.

While Pittsburgh’s assessed value rose 1.87% from 2022 to 2024, a PublicSource review found, a decline has already begun Downtown. 

Assessed value in the city’s 2nd Ward, which spans much of Downtown and the Strip District, dropped 3.73% during that time period, shedding more than $112 million in assessed value. Using current tax rates — measured in mills — that $112 million represents more than $900,000 in lost tax revenue for the city and $1.2 million for the city school district. And appeals for dozens more commercial properties are still pending. 

So far, value has increased enough in residential neighborhoods to make up for Downtown’s problems. The 6th Ward, in Lower Lawrenceville, saw a whopping 30% increase in assessed value ($130.2 million in taxable value). The 5th (Hill District), 16th (South Hills) and 17th (South Side) wards each increased between 9% and 13%.

But the math is unlikely to favor taxing bodies for much longer.

Looming crisis

The successful Downtown appeals are “just the beginning” of the wave of assessment cuts Downtown, said Chris Briem, a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research. “I think what’s in the news of late of the percentage declines in these big buildings are probably typical of what most Downtown buildings will get in the short term.”

Six-figure tax bill decreases for dozens of commercial properties would have a devastating effect on the city and school district. The city is facing a razor-thin budget in the near future with an operating surplus of just a few million dollars. The school district is already operating at a deficit and is considering plans to close school buildings to cut costs.  

“One way or the other, property values Downtown are coming down,” Briem said. “It’s probably going to force a millage increase on everyone else.” That would effectively raise tax bills on property owners throughout the city to make up for the lost revenue coming from Downtown.

While Downtown owners will see lower tax bills, Briem said they are hardly winners in the situation. 

“They’ve lost, they’ve lost a lot and they’re going to keep losing,” Briem said, because decreased demand for office space since the start of the pandemic has crushed commercial building revenue. The assessment cuts are “reflecting that reality.”

Pittsburgh Public Schools solicitor sounded the alarm in a January interview.

“If these large reductions that have occurred Downtown and will continue to occur, they simply do not have financial wherewithal to sustain that,” solicitor Ira Weiss said.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s office took a less dire tone. 

“Budget wise, the team forecasted the possibility of reduced real estate tax revenue,” said city press secretary Olga George. “Currently, Finance and [the Office of Management and Budget] are watching how real estate collections are processing.”

The mayor’s 2024 budget does not forecast a drop in real estate tax revenue. This year’s budget plans for a number slightly higher than last year’s, and the city’s five-year plan projects increases each year.

George said the city is assessing new valuations and deciding whether to contest them in court. 

Peter McDevitt, the budget director for Pittsburgh City Council, said it’s too early and there are too many variables to “hit the panic button,” but the city could eventually be forced to find new revenue or cut services. “Raising millage is not the only avenue, but it’s the most viable one” to raise revenue, he said. 

The county’s $1.1 billion operating budget, which relies on property taxes for around 37% of its revenue, is not in danger of a shortfall, according to county spokesperson Abigail Gardner.

Reassessment vs. ratios

Experts including Briem and Gambino say the fix for the county’s assessment woes lies in conducting routine, countywide reassessments — a concept Innamorato has endorsed, as long as it can be done with new protections for vulnerable taxpayers. 

Gardner confirmed that Innamorato continues to believe “that a reassessment would be a more fair and equitable way to determine values,” adding that “there are no immediate plans to engage in a reassessment.” The real estate market is shifting, she wrote in response to questions, prompting “a reimagining of how to keep our Downtown thriving.”

The last time the county reassessed all its properties was in 2013,after a judge ordered then-County Executive Rich Fitzgerald to do so. Fitzgerald never did so again.

Pennsylvania allows counties to leave decades-old assessments in place, subject to appeals where there’s evidence of rising value. 

In counties that use this “base-year” approach, properties without improvements or recent sales generally keep the same assessments each year. Where there’s evidence of a change in value, the owner or a taxing body can file an appeal.

When an appeal is filed in Allegheny County, the Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review assigns a new fair market value. That value is multiplied by the common level ratio [CLR] to come up with an assessment.

The CLR is meant to adjust appeal-generated assessments to resemble those last set in the base year. But a lawsuit revealed that the county submitted flawed data for the calculation of the CLR, and a judge forced its reduction. 

For appeals filed in Allegheny County this year, the fair market value will be multiplied by 0.545 to determine the assessment, meaning a property with a post-appeal value of $100,000 would be assessed at $54,500. By contrast, for appeals filed in 2021, the ratio was 0.875, meaning that same property would have been assessed at $87,500. 

Property owners whose assessments were boosted in prior year appeals may appeal now, and use the lower CLR to push their assessments down. The ratio, though, won’t help owners whose property values have soared.

Your tax depends on when you bought

Despite the change in the ratio, tax bills in Allegheny County continue to be driven less by the value of the property than the date of purchase. The wild variances in assessments are evident on the streets of the current and prior county executives.

Fitzgerald arguably benefits to the tune of thousands of dollars per year from his decision not to reassess.

He bought his house in Point Breeze in 1989 for $202,000. Because the county doesn’t regularly reassess, his tax bill has remained static, even as property values have soared.

A next-door neighbor bought a similarly sized house in 2021 for $970,095. That price drew an assessment appeal by the Pittsburgh Public Schools, and a resulting fair market value of $616,000.

The neighbor’s total annual tax bill — county, city and school district — is around $3,000 higher than Fitzgerald’s.

Innamorato could lose out financially under the scenario she proposed during her campaign for executive. She has said she'd like to reassess all properties, while increasing existing tax breaks for homeowners and seniors and adding protections for longtime owner-occupants.

Innamorato bought her row house in Upper Lawrenceville for $71,000 in 2015. On the same side of the same block is a house that’s around 20% larger (though it’s not a row house). Purchased during the Lawrenceville real estate boom, it is subject to a tax bill around five times higher.

Gambino said the current system, with no reassessments and one CLR for the entire county, is unfair because different areas have appreciated at different rates since 2013 — meaning homeowners in low-appreciation markets are subject to the same ratio as those in high-appreciation areas.

The base-year system is “something Robin Hood’s evil twin would condone,” Gambino said. “All this talk about reduction and refunds, these are all symptoms of a sickness called the base-year scheme.”

Plight of boroughs

Seth Abrams feels conflicted. On a personal level, a countywide reassessment would cost him money. He bought his home 13 years ago and said it has appreciated significantly since the last time the county assessed its value.

But Abrams is the borough manager for Munhall, a place that stands to lose a lot of money in pending appeals. Just one appeal, by the Lowe’s hardware store in the Waterfront, has already cost the borough $50,000 in annual revenue, enough to wipe out a cushion he had planned for the 2024 budget.

Now, the possibility of a millage increase weighs on him as more appeals, including some from U.S. Steel, are pending.

“If [U.S. Steel] got something along the lines of what Lowe’s got and they got their assessment cut in half, that’s another $60,000 or $70,000 loss that I’m trying not to factor into things right now,” Abrams said. “That would mean that we would have to dig into the reserves, we would have to look at all of our fees and our taxes.

“People will see increased costs if this trend of losing taxable value continues.”

Despite the implications to his personal tax bill, as a professional, Abrams wants to see a reassessment. 

“I need to look out for the needs of an entire community. In Munhall, I’m looking at 5,000 or 6,000 residences. For me, I’m looking at one.”

Assessed values dropped from 2022-2024 in numerous Mon Valley communities near Munhall, showing Abrams’ problems are shared by his peers in other towns. Many of those municipalities and the adjacent school districts already have some of the county’s highest millage rates, giving them less margin to raise the levy.

Clairton will have to deal with the outcome of 32 parcels under appeals filed by U.S. Steel, which operates the Clairton Coke Works there. Clairton Mayor Rich Lattanzi told PublicSource in April that the steelmaker accounts for about one-third of its tax base, and the revenue loss from appeals could “be catastrophic for the City of Clairton.”

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

Rich Lord is PublicSource’s managing editor, and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.

This story was fact-checked by Delaney Rauscher Adams.

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The 2024 election is coming, and Pennsylvania is once again at the center of the political universe. More than most other places, Allegheny County voters will have a say in what comes next at the White House, in Congress and in Harrisburg. 

The stakes are high. What do you want to know about the upcoming vote?

The presidential race, potentially a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, is expected to hinge on just a few swing states. Pennsylvania is the largest. 

Not sure how important Pennsylvania is? Biden has already visited the Keystone State upward of 30 times since becoming president. He’s paid more visits here than to any state but his home of Delaware. 

Control of the U.S. Senate could hinge on Pennsylvania’s contest between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and a to-be-nominated challenger. Control of the closely divided U.S. House could be tipped by the swingy 17th Congressional District, now held by Democrat Chris Deluzio of Aspinwall.

And the political order in Harrisburg would change if Democrats can flip three state Senate seats and control the upper chamber. One of their three targets is in Allegheny County — the 37th District seat held by Republican Devlin Robinson of Bridgeville.

With so much on the ballot, and so much at stake, things can get confusing fast for voters. PublicSource is aiming to keep readers informed on the 2024 election at a local level.

Tell us what you want to know using the form below. Check as many boxes as you want next to topics that interest you. Most important: Use your write-in vote to tell us what else you want to know about the 2024 election season in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

You can also find our stories on Facebook, X and Instagram. PublicSource will strive to meet your needs between now and November — and beyond.

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A year after its director was plucked into the service of the state, the Allegheny County Health Department remains without a long-term leader. 

The Board of Health and new County Executive Sara Innamorato have just begun an effort to fill what a spokesperson called “a vital position for the administration.”

“The director and the [board] have broad responsibilities that range from infant mortality and the opioid epidemic to air pollution and food safety,” wrote Abigail Gardner, the county’s communications director, in an email to PublicSource. “Leading the Health Department is highly technical and process-oriented work,” requiring understanding of law and regulations and “a massive amount of genuine public engagement.”

Unclear at this point is the public’s role in the selection process. Gardner wrote that “it is likely that there is some kind of piece of the process that will involve public input.”

At its Jan. 17 quarterly meeting, the Board of Health did not discuss plans to choose a director, and Acting Director Patrick Dowd declined comment.

Some advocacy organizations are setting out their expectations up front. 

On Dec. 7, a coalition of 35 organizations and 37 individuals under the banner of the Equitable and Just Greater Pittsburgh Network petitioned the county to prioritize health disparities and social determinants of well-being in its choice of a new director.

“The Health Director’s role and the Health Department affect so many aspects of people’s lives,” said Jason Beery, director of the network, convened by UrbanKind Institute, a Pittsburgh-based “think-and-do tank.” A new director would likely want to be involved in issues including air quality, housing health and the county’s development of a climate action plan, he said, so it’s important to hire someone “with certain qualities that we think would best address some of the complex health challenges and health outcomes that affect all of our communities and municipalities.”

Important department, leadership vacuum

Debra Bogen served as the county’s health director from early March 2020, as the pandemic shutdown loomed, until January 2023, when Gov. Josh Shapiro announced her nomination as state secretary of health. Bogen serves as the acting secretary because Republican lawmakers’ concerns have prevented state Senate confirmation. Dowd, the acting director, is a former Pittsburgh City Council member with a doctorate in history.

The 300-person department’s responsibilities include:

• Monitoring air quality, enforcing emissions regulations and allocating the Clean Air Fund
• Inspecting restaurants and otherwise enforcing food safety measures
• Enforcing housing health rules
• Striving to curb violence, overdoses and other causes of death
• Preparing the public for health emergencies like the pandemic.

The director is technically chosen by the nine-member Board of Health. Eight members continue to serve despite expired terms. The slots are some of many that Innamorato can use to shape the county bureaucracy after 12 years of former Executive Rich Fitzgerald making appointments. Gardner did not provide a timeline for reappointing or replacing members, or for hiring a director.

“We look forward to continuing to dig in with them and understand the expertise the board could use going forward to meet the moment or urgent public health needs,” Gardner wrote.

At its meeting, the board reelected as its chair Lee Harrison, a physician and epidemiology professor at the University of Pittsburgh. He has served on the board since 2001, was last reappointed in 2017 and has continued though his term expired in 2020.

‘Hard to get information’

Innamorato’s transition team has posted the health director position on its job opportunities website, indicating that it wants candidates for the $270,000-a-year position who:

• Will focus on racial and economic health disparities
• Has experience making “a measurable impact” on community health
• Is ready to support marginalized communities
• Can craft “an inclusive strategy” to fill vacancies in the department
• Will partner with governmental organizations, nonprofits and businesses to address health challenges.

A medical doctorate is “highly desirable,” according to the posting, though a candidate with a doctorate in public health may be considered.

In its letter to the Board of Health, the Equitable and Just Greater Pittsburgh Network called for a health director conversant in the social determinants of health — the effects that economic, environmental, political, social and cultural factors have on well-being.

The letter also noted the longstanding disparities in health care in the county, some of which improved in recent decades but many of which remain stark. 

The local health system’s failure to bring Black residents’ life expectancy and chronic disease rates in line with those of white residents was magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The department pledged to work on closing gaps in care driven by racism and the lack of culturally appropriate health access in announcing a five-year plan a year ago.

A new director should also have experience in policy implementation and commit to transparency, openness, accountability, accessibility, cultural humility, collaboration and public participation in budgeting, according to the letter.

“It’s been hard to get information out from [the Health Department] in the past, and considering it is a department focused on public health, it feels like a lot of that information needs to be made public, and there needs to be clarity on why the department is making certain decisions,” said Beery in an interview with PublicSource. He also outlined the network’s views during the public comment portion of the board meeting.

The four-year-old network has never weighed in on a personnel decision before, according to Beery. Member groups would like to see some kind of public input process, potentially including representatives of underrepresented communities, areas burdened by pollution or other health threats and groups directly affected by health policy.

The network has not yet received a response to its letter, which was sent to the department, the Board of Health members and several Innamorato transition team chairs.

Beery said that a thorough and prompt process would be ideal, but added that the network is not trying to be antagonistic. “There is an amount of grace that we would show any new person in this kind of executive role,” he said.

Less patient was Clairton resident Kim Meachem, speaking at the board meeting as the department moves toward issuing a new operating permit for U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works.

“We are sick and tired of coming before this panel to tell you the same story over and over and over again,” she said, “and not seeing any results.”

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org or on Twitter @chwolfson.

Rich Lord is the managing editor at PublicSource and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.

The Jewish Healthcare Foundation has contributed funding to PublicSource’s healthcare reporting.

The post County’s top health post, vacant for a year, ‘vital’ to Innamorato administration appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

Advocates for reform at the Allegheny County Jail received new hope at Thursday’s Jail Oversight Board meeting. New County Executive Sara Innamorato attended along with two other new board members, continuing her shakeup of county government.

Innamorato’s mere attendance of the board’s meeting was notable after her predecessor, Rich Fitzgerald, was criticized for sending a proxy to its meetings for almost his entire 12-year tenure. That criticism grew especially loud in recent years as a string of deaths in the county jail drew attention to the Fitzgerald administration’s management of the lockup. 

“This is going to be a place where there is productive dialogue,” Innamorato told reporters after the meeting. “It doesn’t mean that everything that the community demands of us is going to happen instantaneously, but there is going to be an honest answer.”

She was mostly quiet Thursday as residents made comments to the board, but longtime advocates made note of her presence.

“I am actually heartened to see our county executive here,” said Tanisha Long, an organizer with the Abolitionist Law Center. “We haven’t had one here in years.”

After public speakers repeatedly aired concerns about a lack of medical staff in the jail, Innamorato asked jail officials how they are trying to speed hiring of nurses and other staff. One responded that they hope to boost hiring incentives for medical staff. 

Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente, who sits on the board as the newly-elected president judge of the Court of Common Pleas, tried to reset the board’s tenor after 2023 was marked by internal debates between members and anger from community members. 

After one advocate, Marion Damick, criticized the board for its performance last year, DiLucente responded, “We’re off to a new start, with a lot of new members, and it’s going to be a new day.”

Another board member, County Controller Corey O’Connor, welcomed the board’s new members, saying their approach to questioning jail officials “is different than what we had in the past, and having the county executive here as well, we’re able to get a lot more information.”

Poor jail conditions and deaths of incarcerated people were a major issue in the campaign for county executive last year. Innamorato, a progressive Democrat, pledged as a candidate to take a more active role in the oversight board and jail management.

Innamorato was not the board’s only newcomer. DiLucente, elected president by her fellow Common Pleas judges late last year, and Judge Eileen Bigley replaced Judge Elliot Howsie and Judge Beth Lazzara, respectively. 

The board’s three citizen-member seats were empty Thursday. Innamorato’s spokesperson told PublicSource the executive will nominate new members this month. They will need County Council approval to serve.

Several speakers said Thursday that their hopes for a more productive board are mixed with deep-seated frustration with slow progress.

“If we are not your partners, we will be your adversaries.  And we do not want to do that,” said Dave Swanson, a Mennonite pastor and member of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network. “We want to work together.”

Another resident gave a solemn reading of the names of people who died in the jail as public attendees and board members stood. 

“This is an ongoing and persistent problem where our loved ones are going into the jail and they are not leaving,” Long said. “My hope is that with this newer board that these are problems we can begin to solve.”

O’Connor and Sheriff Kevin Kraus are holdovers from the last two years. So is County Councilor Bethany Hallam, a political ally of Innamorato who harshly criticized Fitzgerald’s jail management practices and often quarreled during meetings with Howsie, the board’s former chair.

While the board and the jail have fresh leadership, many problems will persist. A staffing shortage continues, stretching correctional officers thin and often requiring overtime. The jail’s medical staff has dozens of vacancies, raising more safety concerns. And some major aspects of the jail’s operation, like the arresting practices of local police departments and the judges’ choices of which defendants to confine in the jail, are entirely out of Innamorato’s control.

The jail is without a permanent leader after Warden Orlando Harper retired in September. The state appointed an interim leader to serve while Innamorato and council decide on a permanent replacement.

“I think a lot of people in this room are in general hopeful about what we can do as a new board, [with] a new warden,” resident Jodi Lincoln said during the public comment period. “The possibilities to improve the jail feel more real than ever before.”

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

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Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato made quick work of setting herself apart from her predecessor Wednesday, announcing a wage hike for potentially hundreds of county employees. 

Innamorato’s new policy, which sets a wage floor for full-time county workers at $18 per hour in 2024 and $22 per hour by 2027, is similar to a 2023 law passed by County Council then overturned by a court challenge filed by the administration of then-Executive Rich Fitzgerald.

Innamorato said on the campaign trail she supported the bill, and made good on that statement just a day after she was sworn in as Fitzgerald’s successor. She said the new policy is vital to retaining and attracting workers to carry out the work of county government.

“Once I learned we had 1,000 open positions at the county, I knew improving our workforce pay and benefits was going to be an immediate action for my administration,” Innamorato said at a press conference outside her County Courthouse office.

It’s unclear exactly how many employees will benefit from the action, though Innamorato’s spokesperson said “hundreds” of employees will see an increase when the $22 floor goes into effect. A PublicSource analysis showed that more than 1,000 full-time employees earned less than that in 2022, though some may have received raises since then.

Innamorato also announced a new wage floor for part-time workers, increased from $12 to $15 per hour.

The increases will not immediately affect union workers, though Innamorato indicated equivalent hikes would be incorporated into each union’s next collective bargaining agreement. Thousands of county workers are unionized, encompassing public safety workers and service workers, among others.

The announcement suggests an immediate shift in the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of county government. Innamorato took an issue that divided the two sides so deeply last year that Fitzgerald and council ended up in court over the legality of the wage legislation. A judge later sided with the executive branch, leaving Innamorato with  sole authority to set wages. She gave council what it wants in this case.

Innamorato said the move is already accounted for in the 2024 budget and that she would need to do further work with her budget staff to determine resulting costs for future budget years. She said any cost estimate would take into account the savings associated with employee retention and a revitalized workforce.

She also announced adjusted employee benefits aimed at improving retention and hiring. Employees will receive three weeks of paid vacation, with added time for long-serving employees, and they will no longer have to wait to access sick time and parental leave, she said.

“The county has record low unemployment right now, and that means hiring is competitive,” Innamorato said. “And the county cannot compete if we are not recognizing the work-life balance that people need to be successful.”

She also announced prospective employees will no longer be subjected to drug tests, except when collective bargaining agreements require it.

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

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Sara Innamorato asked local leaders at her inauguration ceremony Tuesday not to fear change as she begins trying to cure what she sees as major shortcomings in county government. Hundreds witnessed Innamorato take the oath of office as the fourth Allegheny County executive at Downtown Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater, including former Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who finished his 12th and final year as executive Tuesday morning.

Movers and shakers in the local Democratic party were on hand to watch the start of a new era for county government as it switches hands from Fitzgerald’s more moderate, development-minded approach to Innamorato, a leader of the progressive movement that has seized power in municipal and county government over the past five years. Even more change: Innamorato, 37, is the county’s first female executive.

Innamorato began her inaugural address just after 12:30 p.m. by thanking both Fitzgerald and another former executive in attendance, Dan Onorato, for their service to the county. But she quickly pivoted to a 30-minute speech that homed in on where county government has fallen short — and how she will change its course.

She lamented the county’s slow economic recovery from the pandemic, its relatively small immigrant population and economic and health disparities affecting marginalized people. 

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s historic inauguration on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2023, at the Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. Innamorato, a lifelong resident of the county, became the first woman to hold the position. At top left, her family, with her mother at center, Kim Innamorato, applauds. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)E

“In too many cases, those differences stem from shortcomings in our approach to economic development, to social services and to justice,” Innamorato said. “We don’t need to be ashamed of these facts and where we fall short, but we do have to acknowledge it.”

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, one of Innamorato’s political allies, said he saw her potential while the two served in the state House together from 2019 through 2021.

“I watched how hard she fought for working class families,” Gainey said. “… She never wavered and she never backed down.”

After bitterly fought primary and general elections that were partly defined by endorsements and giant campaign donations from political committees of labor unions, the region’s top labor leader held one of just two speaking slots before Innamorato’s inaugural address.

Darrin Kelly, the president of the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, which endorsed rival Democrat John Weinstein in the primary but backed Innamorato in November, set high expectations for Innamorato’s dealings with organized labor in the coming years.

“Working families will have a place at the table in this administration, not because it’s the political thing to do, but because it’s within her heart,” Kelly said.

Innamorato closed her address saying the county can overcome major challenges — homelessness and population stagnation, to name two — but not without some major changes.

“You won’t find anyone more enthusiastic than me about fries on salads and cookie tables,” she said. “But nothing about loving tradition means you have to fear change.”

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

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Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, to be sworn into the region’s highest elected office today after campaigning on a “county for all,” has been thrust into leadership of a government roiled by internal lawsuits and big personalities. 

She will need to confront urgent policy problems, from homelessness to the jail to the environment, working alongside a County Council that spent the last few years aligning itself in opposition to her predecessor, Rich Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald, who began his political career as a member and then president of council before ascending to the executive’s office in 2012, saw the legislative branch work in recent years to override his vetoes and elect a vocal critic as its president in Pat Catena. In the last year alone, the legislative and executive branches have been locked in three lawsuits over who has the power to do what in county government.

For council members, who serve part-time and many of whom did not sign on to be political combatants, Innamorato could present a new beginning and a reset. The biggest change they hope to see?

“Transparency, first and foremost,” said Councilor Bobby Palmosina. “For us to work together.”

Fitzgerald’s loudest critic over the last four years, Councilor Bethany Hallam, an Innamorato ally, is cautiously hopeful for what’s to come.

“I’m really optimistic, but again I’m still forever being cautious because I know the power that that office holds,” Hallam said. “… I’m optimistic that Sara will do what is right, always. And council will be there to support her in doing that and also to make sure that she does.”

Pressing issues for Innamorato — and council

In an echo of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s ascent two years ago, Innamorato has a host of pressing policy problems to attend to.

Two of the most prominent county government agencies, the Health Department and the jail, are leaderless. Her hires for those roles could define the early part of her tenure and will have a lasting impact on criminal justice and public health policy in the region.

The county’s largest agency, the Department of Human Services, has been struggling to deal with an increase in the number of unhoused people. The agency made the controversial decision to shutter a winter seasonal shelter on Smithfield Street last year, leading to confusion among its clients and anger among advocates and some council members. 

Tent encampments remain in pockets of the city, illustrating the work that remains for the county under new leadership. 

A string of deaths in the Allegheny County Jail brought heated criticism upon Fitzgerald during his final term, and made the facility a key issue in the election to replace him. Innamorato will be closely watched as she tries to turn the facility around, but she will have to contend with a staffing shortage. Jail union leadership says there are too few officers and medical staff to safely operate the lockup.

Innamorato has stressed the need to stop incarcerating minors in the jail, and instead house them in a facility specially designed for children. But an effort to reopen the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center spun into controversy over Fitzgerald’s decision to not only bring in a private operator, but one that is facing lawsuits alleging negligent care elsewhere in Pennsylvania. The contract with Adelphoi to run the center includes no simple exit clause for the county, which could limit Innamorato’s options for years.

Innamorato will inherit a property tax assessment system that most experts view as broken and that was the source of litigation against the county. She campaigned on instituting a countywide reassessment, which would require an extensive overhaul of the existing system and, if her own campaign statements are followed, built-in protections for vulnerable homeowners.

Council will play a role in each of these issues, whether by considering budgets or vetting and confirming the key department leaders Innamorato selects. 

Lawsuits, not communication

Catena said council was “constantly blindsided” under the Fitzgerald administration, citing major plans to reopen a juvenile detention center and to close a homeless shelter made without its input. 

The plan to reopen the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center with a private operator, which Catena said council learned of at the same time as the public, triggered one of the lawsuits between council and Fitzgerald. Council argued in legal filings that its consent is required to allow the private company, Adelphoi, to use the Shuman site. 

The executive branch treated the arrangement as a professional services contract, which does not require council approval. The case is pending in the Court of Common Pleas, though the county has sent initial payments to Adelphoi and construction has begun at Shuman.

In June council passed a law setting minimum pay levels for county employees, wading into the day-to-day administration of government and causing Fitzgerald to sue to overturn the law and preserve the executive branch’s authority over wages. A judge ultimately ruled in Fitzgerald’s favor, though an appeal is still possible.

The third intra-government lawsuit was filed by Councilor Bethany Hallam, possibly Fitzgerald’s most outspoken critic. She asked a judge to confirm that Fitzgerald and two other elected officials were breaking the law when they sent proxies to meetings of the Jail Oversight Board, on which they serve by statute. Fitzgerald’s solicitor argued in filings that the law permits Fitzgerald’s behavior and that Hallam lacked standing to sue. The case is pending.

The legal back-and-forth is a reminder that the county’s system of government – formed in 2000 – is still relatively new. Innamorato is only its fourth chief executive. 

“A lot of the disagreements could have been resolved if there was an open line of communication between the two entities,” said Tom Duerr an outgoing Democratic councilor who did not seek re-election last year.

Sam DeMarco, one of two Republicans on council, pointed the finger at Catena and other council members for communication breakdowns, and said Fitzgerald has typically been responsive.

“So this breakdown is one-sided, and coming from [council members] and not from [Fitzgerald’s] office,” DeMarco said.

Innamorato enters

Innamorato entered politics as a staunch progressive, originally a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. She left that group in 2019 and has sounded a more pragmatic tone in recent years, though not forsaking a “people-powered politics” and social justice focus. 

Regardless of how much Innamorato has moved ideologically since 2018, when she entered office as a state representative, she stands firmly to the left of Fitzgerald and his predecessors. 

Council members were cautiously optimistic that Innamorato will be a willing partner.

“She has a job to do, we have a job to do,” Catena said. “And everyone wants to just move the county forward at this point.”

Palmosina predicted that for Innamorato, “being a fresh face, more of a younger generation” could work to her advantage, and he predicted that she will have an “open-door policy” and “more dialogue with me and the rest of the members.”

Many eyes will be on Hallam, who has an ideological friend in the executive’s chair after making a name for herself as a foil to Fitzgerald. Hallam said she still takes her executive branch accountability role seriously even with Innamorato replacing Fitzgerald.

“There are absolutely going to be times that Sara does things that I disagree with, that council disagrees with,” Hallam said. “And that’s what makes government so sexy.”

Hallam said she will continue her push to make council a more independent body, including by seeking the authority to approve and reject government contracts, a power Pittsburgh City Council possesses but County Council lacks. She also said she wants council to have a bigger staff so members can pursue more expansive legislative agendas. 

One of council’s two newcomers this year, Bethel Park Democrat Dan Grzybek, said he sees council as a potential asset to the executive because of the members’ ground-up view of their respective communities. 

“Whenever you have that relationship with the county executive, you’re able to much better utilize the local nature of county council, and the ability that we have to know our communities a lot better than the high-level administration can,” Grzybek said.

DeMarco predicted that some of his colleagues will try to “push the envelope” on what legislation it can pass under an inexperienced executive and try “to usurp her powers.” 

Duerr, a campaign professional, said he worries that while Innamorato brings a fresh face to county government, council may fall back on habits formed during the past four years.

“I’m worried that this council sees everything as a nail and they are a hammer, and try to push things through and sue their way through what I see as pretty ordinary disagreements,” Duerr said. 

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

The post Innamorato faces an Allegheny County Council that clashed with her predecessor appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

Pittsburgh’s budget is set to tighten and its rainy day fund will dwindle in the next several years while the city collects less than half a million dollars per year in voluntary payments from major nonprofits. 

Meanwhile Providence, Rhode Island this fall came to a 20-year agreement with local colleges that brings the city an average of more than $11 million per year, safeguarding the city’s finances and preserving good relations between municipal government and major institutions. 

The agreement for payments in lieu of taxes, known as a PILOT, could serve as a model for Pittsburgh to pursue as it seeks greater contributions from nonprofit giants like UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh and others. But doing so would require a change of course: Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has taken a far more confrontational and fragmented approach than his Rhode Island counterparts.

Providence’s approach, centered around a group negotiation with all the involved colleges and a give and take of benefits, netted the city $59 per resident annually, on average.  Pittsburgh’s proposed 2024 budget, by contrast, includes $1.44 per resident revenue from nonprofits’ voluntary payments.

Pittsburgh’s meager results are not for a lack of desire: Mayors have tried to raise revenue from nonprofits for decades. Gainey made the issue a centerpiece of his 2021 run for office, covering the campaign trail with promises to make UPMC “pay their fair share” to the city. But two years into his term, he has little to show for it.

How did Providence achieve what Pittsburgh seemingly can’t? Interviews with leaders in both cities show drastically different approaches, with collaboration and transparency winning the day in Rhode Island.

Pittsburgh battles, Providence sought consensus

Gainey has met infrequently with nonprofit leaders and has spoken in combative terms about legal challenges he is bringing to certain nonprofit-owned properties’ tax exempt status. 

Gainey’s move is the latest in decades of tries by Pittsburgh mayors to reap more money from nonprofits. Former Mayor Tom Murphy created a fund which saw the city’s PILOT contributions temporarily increase to $17 per capita. Former Mayor Luke Ravenstahl sued UPMC to try to revoke its nonprofit status. Former Mayor Bill Peduto nixed that lawsuit and created his own PILOT-like initiative, called OnePGH, which was scrapped when Gainey took office.

Providence’s mayor took a collaborative-but-determined approach to working with four colleges to get a deal. 

“You get more with honey than with vinegar,” said Dan Egan, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island, who negotiated with the City of Providence. “I think it’s appropriate to ask for money, but it’s appropriate to ask for it in partnership, not in the sense that it’s owed, per se.”

Egan and Providence College administrator John Sweeney both said that Providence Mayor Brett Smiley took a fair, even-handed approach to the negotiations. 

“Mayor Smiley was very committed to working with the colleges rather than working against them,” Sweeney said. “It was not adversarial, although he was quite clear that this is something he was committed to. He said the city has an interest in the colleges and universities succeeding. That set a good environment.”

Gainey ran for office in 2021 with an aggressive tone toward UPMC; one of the priorities on his campaign website reads “Demanding that UPMC pay their fair share.” It’s unclear if Gainey has pursued a broad, cooperative agreement like the Providence deal. His office declined to comment for this story and he has declined in the past to comment on any closed-door meetings with leaders of UPMC and Highmark.

Gainey’s most significant move to date was announcing legal challenges to the tax-exempt status of 26 properties owned by Pittsburgh nonprofits, including some owned by UPMC. He told PublicSource in an October interview that he plans to ramp that effort up considerably in 2024. 

Some officials in Pittsburgh are doubting Gainey’s combative approach to the problem. City Councilor Anthony Coghill, who will find himself among the most tenured council members come January, said Gainey’s legal fight has dashed any hope of a substantive voluntary agreement with universities or hospitals.

“What I disagree with is our posturing, trying to force their hand,” Coghill said. “In my opinion it’s going to go nowhere …

“Sit them down and say ‘forget about this lawsuit nonsense, let’s talk about a PILOT. People are rushed to your facilities in our ambulances and using our roadways, and we need financial help.’”

City Controller-elect Rachael Heisler, who takes office in January and served as deputy controller since 2021, said she, too, disagrees with Gainey’s tactics.

“If you start that conversation with litigation, I don’t know that you’ll have any willing participants,” Heisler said. “The approach of suing hasn’t worked.”

A ‘fair’ process, with no singling out

Both college leaders and city leaders in Providence said it was key to negotiate with the four major nonprofits as a group, not individually. Smiley got negotiators from Brown University, Providence College, Johnson & Wales University and Rhode Island School of Design at the same table from the start.

“In some ways they had to negotiate amongst themselves, and the city wasn’t a party to that,” said Courtney Hawkins, the chief operating officer under Smiley. “I think it would have taken much longer” to make agreements with institutions individually.

Egan said the collective approach can reassure individual institutions that they are not going to end up paying disproportionately more than others. 

“If nonprofits should pay, it should be fair among nonprofits,” Egan said. “What’s fair about two institutions or two sectors paying? Where’s the fairness of that?”

While Gainey’s recent legal efforts don’t officially focus on UPMC, the healthcare conglomerate was the target of most of the mayor’s campaign rhetoric. He said during an October interview partly about UPMC that the city’s legal efforts to tax nonprofit property will ramp up in 2024. 

Asked if UPMC would be open to a broad agreement like the one in Providence, UPMC spokesperson Paul Wood wrote in an email to PublicSource that the city “can count on [UPMC’s] full participation in programs that are fair and equitable and include the region’s other major nonprofits.”

Heisler, drawing on a report her office produced in 2022, suggested the city start with the “big five” nonprofits — UPMC, AHN/Highmark, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and Duquesne University. Of the five, only UPMC responded to PublicSource’s requests for comment.

The five together own city property with a taxable value of $4.3 billion, which, without the exemptions, would bring the city around $34 million in annual taxes.

Hawkins, the Providence COO, said the city was careful to avoid language and proposals that would make the nonprofit institutions uncomfortable. The phrase “fair share” was not tossed around, and the institutions’ tax exempt status was never called into question. Smiley also made sure to give the universities credit for their economic impact on the city.

“It certainly helped that they knew he would give them credit where it was due, and it wasn’t a one-sided conversation,” Hawkins said.

Pittsburgh short on cash

If Pittsburgh were to receive $59 per capita annually in new PILOT agreements — the average amount Providence will receive over the next 20 years — that would work out to $17.6 million per year on average. 

That’s a significant sum for a city facing lean budget years, a shrinking rainy day fund and the end of federal COVID-19 relief money. Pittsburgh projects an operating margin of just $3.5 million in 2025 — its lowest in years — while its rainy day fund is set to decrease to the legal minimum by 2028. 

“I think [PILOT] revenue is essential to city government,” Heisler said, nodding to the gloomy budget forecast for the next five years. “If [the mayor’s office] is not having these conversations, they need to be. They owe it to the people who live here. Because there is going to be no budget flexibility at all in the next few years. You need to have some wiggle room.”

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

This story was fact-checked by Lucas Dufalla.

The post Pittsburgh leaders have long failed to attract payments from nonprofits. How did a smaller city lock in $220 million? appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

Pittsburgh leaders have said for years that they hope to grow the city’s population in part by attracting immigrants. In Beechview, where census counts showed the Hispanic and Latino population climbed by 75% between 2010 and 2020, local leaders are seeing the benefits and grappling with how to engage a more diverse population.

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“They’ve been nothing but a huge asset to this district and to that neighborhood,” said City Councilor Anthony Coghill, who lives in Beechview and represents it and other South Pittsburgh neighborhoods. “They’re bringing money into our local economy. They’ve brought a lot of life back into a neighborhood that was kind of suffering.”

Latinos represented 10% of Beechview’s 2020 census population, which is far more than in the city overall (4%) or the county (3%), but still makes them a minority in a predominantly white neighborhood. 

Monica Ruiz, executive director of community resource center Casa San José, said most Beechview Latinos are recent arrivals to the United States — meaning they can’t vote and may struggle to interface with government officials and access resources. She said many fear government because of their experience with authorities in their countries of origin.

“Many of them are fleeing because of what government looks like there,” Ruiz said. “And so there is a valid fear.”

Coghill said he has taken a passive approach to engaging with the Latino community because he does not want to make anyone feel threatened.

“I have not engaged them like I should,” Coghill said. “ … I guess I don’t feel like there is the want on their side. So I don’t want to force myself on somebody. Whether they or someone they know doesn’t quite have the paperwork to be here, I don’t want to scare anybody.”

Coghill has been active, though, in engaging organizations like Casa San José and the Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation, and Ruiz said his efforts have not gone unnoticed. 

“It’s people like him who are white Pittsburghers who have been here for generations who people might look at and feel intimidated to speak to him. But he has really made himself available and I’m thankful to him.”

New political flavor

Some recent changes in Beechview’s restaurant scene are emblematic of the neighborhood’s political and demographic shifts, and not just metaphorically. Gone is the longtime American spot The Huddle, while the neighborhood’s main drag is dotted with establishments like Chicken Latino and El Paisano. 

But there’s more to it: The Huddle, which served burgers and steaks with free popcorn on Broadway Avenue for 47 years until this summer, was owned by Pete Wagner, a symbol of a political culture that is all but unrecognizable now.

Wagner chaired the 19th Ward Democratic Committee for decades, at a time when the party’s endorsement was vital to candidates’ electoral chances, and committee members felt immense pressure to support the choice of their ward chair. That made Wagner a power broker and his restaurant was where decisions were made. 

Coghill recalled going to see Wagner at The Huddle to make his case to run for City Council. Eventually, after enjoying Wagner’s support and later losing it, Coghill said he decided to take on the system. In 2010 he challenged Wagner for ward chair and lost. But in 2014 Coghill drove Wagner from the post and brought about a new order: He would not pressure committee members to vote a certain way and said he encouraged free thinking when it came to endorsing primary candidates.

Since that 2014 revolution, much of the city and county has been swept by progressive reform. Powerful committee members (Coghill called them “warlords”) are a thing of the past. Committee-endorsed candidates have lost primaries from time to time. Wagner told news outlets this summer he closed the Huddle so he could retire. 

Bob Hillen, the Republican committee chair for the 4th Council District, which includes Beechview, said his party has tried to engage and recruit the Latino community without success.

Hillen, who lives in Beechview, praised Coghill’s advocacy for the area but said longtime residents feel left out of their own neighborhood.

“A lot of local businesses went away,” said Hillen, a painter by trade and former city council candidate. “Mostly every business we have now is Mexican restaurants, Latin businesses. We kind of lost our grocery store, even though it’s still there, it’s mostly used by immigrants to transfer money out of the country.”

Not voters, but not forgotten

The local Democratic Committee has become “more reflective of the actual voters,” according to committee member Darrin Tidrick. “There’s not the same deference to the ‘We’re just going to do whatever we’re told.’”

But the committee does not reflect the burgeoning Latino community, according to the current ward chair, Tony Griffith. This is partly explained by the fact that many members are ineligible to vote. 

While the national narrative around Latino voters focuses on who they will support in federal elections, Ruiz is focused on simply getting new arrivals to open up to their neighbors.

“They aren’t eligible to vote but that doesn’t mean they can’t be politically involved,” Ruiz said. “We’ve worked with people to try to help them to tell their story to their neighbors, their bosses, the people that can vote. So that they can help people understand that we aren’t one-issue voters.”

She praised politicians including Coghill and state Rep. Jessica Benham, D-South Side, for showing up to community events and not ignoring people who can’t vote. 

“Many of them have come here because they want to stay here and are on the path to citizenship,” Ruiz said. “And so eventually they will become voters, and ignoring them is probably not the right thing to do. It will be interesting to see what our voting bloc will look like in the next five to 10 years.”

And though many of Beechview’s Latinos can’t vote, Ruiz, a resident of neighboring Brookline,was recently named to a prominent post in county politics. County Executive-elect Sara Innamorato appointed her as a co-chair of her transition committee, which will shape the new county administration set to take over in January. 

“We’re talking about strategies to make sure that all voices are included,” Ruiz said of her work with the transition.

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.

This story was fact-checked by Ladimir Garcia.

Translation by Zulma Michaca, a bilingual professional living in Riverside County, Calif., with family ties in Pittsburgh. She can be reached at z.michaca123@gmail.com.

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Líderes de Pittsburgh por años han dicho que esperan crecer la población de la ciudad, en parte, al atraer inmigrantes. En Beechview, donde las cifras del censo muestran que la población Hispana y Latina creció por 75% entre 2010 y 2020, líderes locales ven los beneficios y buscan la manera de cómo involucrar una población más diversa. 

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“No han sido más que un valor inmenso a este distrito y al vecindario,” dijo el miembro del Consejo de la ciudad Anthony Coghill, quien vive en Beechview y representa a ese y otros vecindarios de South Pittsburgh. “Están atrayendo dinero a nuestra economía local. Han traído mucha vida a nuestro vecindario que estaba sufriendo un poco.” 

Los Latinos representan 10% de la población del censo de Beechview del 2020, que es mucho más de lo que es en la ciudad (4%) o el condado (3%), pero todavía son la minoría en un vecindario mayormente blanco. 

Monica Ruiz, directora ejecutiva del centro de recursos para la comunidad Casa San José, dijo que muchos de los Latinos de Beechview recientemente llegaron a los Estados Unidos – lo que significa que no pueden votar y les cuesta  conectar con oficiales del gobierno y acceder recursos. Ella dijo que muchos temen al gobierno por su experiencia con autoridades en sus países de origen. 

 “Muchos de ellos están huyendo por como es el gobierno allí,” dijo Ruiz. “Así que hay un temor válido.” 

Coghill dijo que ha tomado un método pasivo al involucrar a la comunidad Latina porque no quiere que nadie se sienta intimidado.  

“No los he involucrado como debería,” dijo Coghill. “… Creo que no siento que es lo que quieren. Así que no los quiero forzar a que me acepten. Aunque ellos o alguien que ellos conocen no tengan el papeleo en regla para estar aquí, no quiero asustar a nadie.”

Pero, Coghill ha sido activo en involucrarse con organizaciones como Casa San José y Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation, y Ruiz dice que su esfuerzo no ha pasado desapercibido. 

“Son personas como él que son Pittsburghers blancos que han estado aquí por generaciones a los que quizás la gente se siente intimidados al verlo y hablar con él. Pero él realmente se ha hecho disponible y estoy agradecida con él.” 

Nuevo sabor político 

Algunos cambios recientes en el área de restaurantes en Beechview son emblemáticos de los cambios políticos y demográficos del vecindario, y no sólo metafóricamente. The Huddle, el lugar americano de tantos años se retiró, mientras que la calle principal está salpicada de establecimientos como Chicken Latino y El Paisano. 

Pero hay más: The Huddle, que servía hamburguesas y bistecs con palomitas gratis en la Avenida Broadway por 47 años hasta este verano, pertenecía a Pete Wagner, un símbolo de una cultura política que ahora ya no se reconoce.

Wagner presidió el Comité Democrático Distrito 19 por décadas, en un tiempo cuando el respaldo del partido era vital para las posibilidades electorales de los candidatos, y miembros del comité sentían una presión inmensa de apoyar a la selección del presidente del distrito. Eso hacía a Wagner un intermediario de poder y su restaurante era donde se tomaban las decisiones.

Coghill recordaba ir a ver a Wagner en The Huddle a plantear el caso de su candidatura al Concejo Municipal. Con el tiempo, después de disfrutar el apoyo de Wager y luego perder ese apoyo, Coghill decidió enfrentarse al sistema. En el 2010 retó a Wagner para ser presidente del distrito y perdió. Pero en el 2014 Coghill ahuyentó a Wagner del puesto e impuso una orden nueva: Él no iba a presionar a miembros del comité a votar de cierta manera y dijo que apoyaba pensamientos libres cuando se trataba de respaldar a candidatos primarios.  

Desde esa revolución en 2014, la mayoría de la ciudad y el condado han sido arrasados por una reforma progresiva. Miembros poderosos del comité (Coghill les decía “caciques de guerra”) son algo del pasado. Candidatos respaldados por el comité han perdido elecciones primarias de vez en cuando. Este verano, Wagner les dijo a los medios de noticias que cerró The Huddle para retirarse. 

Bob Hillen, el presidente del comité Republicano para el 4to Distrito del Consejo, que incluye a Beechview, dijo que su partido ha tratado de involucrar y reclutar a la comunidad Latina sin éxito.

Hillen, quien vive en Beechview, aprecia la abogacía de Cohill para el área, pero dijo que los residentes que han vivido en el vecindario desde hace mucho tiempo se sienten fuera de lugar en su propio vecindario. 

“Muchos de los negocios locales se fueron de aquí,” dijo Hillen, un pintor de profesión y ex candidato al concejo municipal. “Casi todos los negocios que tenemos ahora son restaurantes mexicanos, negocios Latinos. De cierto modo, perdimos nuestro supermercado, aunque todavía sigue allí, mayormente se usa por inmigrantes para transferir dinero fuera del país.” 

No votantes, pero no olvidados

El comité local Democrático se ha convertido “más perceptivo de los verdaderos votantes,” según el miembro del comité Darrin Tidrick. “No hay la misma consideración al decir ‘Vamos a hacer lo que nos dicen que hagamos.'”

Pero el comité no refleja la comunidad floreciente de Latinos, según el presidente del distrito actual, Tony Griffith. Esto se explica en parte por el hecho de que muchos miembros no tienen derecho a votar.

Mientras la narrativa nacional alrededor de votantes Latinos se enfoca en quién apoyarán en las elecciones federales, Ruiz se enfoca en que los recién llegados simplemente se acoplen a sus vecindarios.

“No son elegibles para votar pero eso no significa que no puedan estar políticamente involucrados,” dijo Ruiz.” Hemos trabajado con la gente para tratar de ayudar a que cuenten sus historias a sus vecinos, sus jefes, a la gente que sí puede votar. De esa manera ellos ayudan a que los demás entiendan que no somos votantes de un solo tema.” 

Ella elogió a políticos incluyendo a Coghill y a la Representante del estado Jessica Benham, D-Lado Sur, por llegar a eventos comunitarios y no ignorar a las personas que no pueden votar. 

“Muchos de ellos llegaron aquí porque se quieren quedar y están en el camino a la ciudadanía,” dijo Ruiz. “Así que eventualmente serán votantes e ignorarlos tal vez no sea lo correcto. Será interesante ver como se verá nuestro bloque político en los siguientes cinco a diez años.”

Aunque muchos de los Latinos de Beechview no pueden votar, Ruiz, un residente del vecindario Brookline, recientemente fue nombrada a un puesto destacado en las políticas del condado. La ejecutiva del Condado-Electa Sara Innamorato la designó como copresidenta del su comité de transición, que dará forma a la nueva administración del condado que tomará el cargo en enero. 

“Estamos hablando de estrategias para asegurar que todas las voces sean incluidas,” Ruiz dijo de su trabajo con la transición. 

Charlie Wolfson es un reportero del gobierno local de FuentePública (PublicSource) y es miembro de corps para Report for America. Puede ser contactado en charlie@publicsource.org.   

Los hechos de esta historia fueron revisados por Ladimir Garcia. 

Traducción de Zulma Michaca, profesional bilingüe experta viviendo en el Condado de Riverside, Calif., con familia en Pittsburgh. Para contactarla: z.michaca123@gmail.com.

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