QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES — Allegheny County Executive Questionnaire

What will be your first environmental priority when you take office and how do you plan to address the issue? (ONE-MINUTE VIDEO ANSWER)

Dave Fawcett WATCH VIDEO 

Sara Innamorato WATCH VIDEO

Michael Lamb WATCH VIDEO 

How waste is dealt with for the county’s 1.2 million residents is largely determined by which township or borough one resides in. This creates an imbalance in the level of waste and recycling services accessible across the county.  What do you think the Allegheny County Executive’s role is in providing all residents with safe and responsible recycling options for both common household items and hard-to-recycle materials such as electronics?  

Dave Fawcett

I will be our first County Executive to take a real interest in this important issue.  Not only is there the issue of different municipalities offering different recycling options, but there is the equally if not more important issue of whether our waste that is marked for recycling is actually recycled – in fact, much of it is not.

As County Executive, I would actively take all possible measures to see that all municipalities offer good and similar recycling options.  Furthermore, I would ensure that much more of our items picked up from “recycling” bins are actually recycled, and I would expose and hold haulers and recycling operations accountable if they are in fact representing that they are engaged in recycling when they are not.

In order to implement easy-access recycling, as County Executive, I would also charge the Department of Public Works with the task of ensuring recycling drop-off locations are equally distributed to residents across Allegheny County. As County Executive, it would be a goal to increase the locations in the boroughs and townships with limited access, whether it be through a permanent location or a mobile recycling location… and, again, monitor and ensure that the items picked up – glass, plastic and paper products – are actually recycled.

Sara Innamorato

Waste management and recycling are becoming more and more costly and challenging for individual municipalities across our county. There are a few things the County Executive can do to improve services and outcomes in this area. One is to invest much more in our Councils of Government. Several COGs are already providing shared waste management services to their member communities. We need to take what is working and expand it to all of the COGs. I will provide funding and incentives to do this and to improve existing programs as well. I will also expand the County’s existing partnership with PRC to offer more frequent e-waste recycling days and to reduce costs for participation. Finally, I will explore the opportunity to create a Countywide composting program, starting as a pilot in interested communities and expanding the model if it proves successful and demand is clear. We also need to reduce the source of the problem in the first place and look at opportunities to reduce single-use plastics such as banning plastic bags in additional municipalities, preventing the expansion of the plastics and petrochemicals industries in the region, and incentivizing individuals and municipal leaders to do more to encourage alternatives.

Michael Lamb

I think a lot about how we can coordinate with our municipal partners to deliver quality services that transcend municipal boundaries. It’s why I’ve proposed creating an Office of Municipal Partnership. This office would help municipalities navigate issues, from economic infrastructure to public safety to environmental justice. I think it’s part of the Executive’s job to help Allegheny’s municipalities with issues like waste to help them build greener infrastructure for the future. I sit on the board of 3 Rivers Wet Weather to help municipalities clean up their communities. Through an Office of Municipal Partnership, we could expand on the 3 Rivers model and help communities build and invest in their own green projects to ensure that recycling and waste is easily accessible and that neighborhood-wide E recycling events happen regularly.

John K. Weinstein

There is a narrative discouraging people from recycling, which runs contrary to our recent trends toward proactively tending to our environment. We need to combat the narrative that recycling is ineffective. My administration will work toward increasing knowledge of recycling options, increasing access and availability, and working with local municipalities to expand those resources throughout the County.

Allegheny County has among the worst air pollution in the country — emissions from industrial point sources like coke ovens, steel mills, and factories contribute to Allegheny County’s ranking in the worst 1% of counties nationwide for cancer risk as a result of these types of emissions, and vehicle emissions are also problematic, placing Allegheny County in the worst 7% of counties nationwide. 

The Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers serve as the source of drinking water for roughly five million people, yet they suffer from a combination of legacy and novel pollution sources such as acid mine drainage, combined sewage overflows, increased flooding and stormwater events, and industrial pollution. Many of these toxic discharges can impact the environment, public health, and economic growth.

Research also shows that vulnerable populations are disproportionately impacted by pollution.  How will your administration reduce pollution in Allegheny County and address this impact disparity?

Dave Fawcett

As County Executive, I will create a DEE – a Department of Environmental Resources – a department charged with enforcing existing laws.  I would also have the Department of Health continue to be in charge of monitoring, testing and administering health care, as they do presently, but I would get it out of the business of enforcing the law.  The Health Department Board is made up of many people with health and medical backgrounds, but not necessarily law enforcement.  In having a DEE devoted to enforcing laws relating to air, water & groundwater pollution, we would hold corporations accountable under the law, as I have done all of my career.

With the new fracking industry and the threat to water and groundwater, we must be particularly vigilant.  And with our small group of major air polluters, we will enforce the law. As for our drinking water, we need to reclaim our riverfronts, and move rail lines back from the rivers.  Presently, Norfolk Southern and CSX run an enormous amount of liquid fuel and hazardous chemicals right along rivers every day; right near our water treatment inlets (e.g., Shaler Waterworks; City of Pittsburgh Water Treatment Plant; West View & Oakmont Water Authorities), posing the threat of catastrophic harm if there were to be more derailments.  I would change that.

Under my plan to create a Countywide Riverfront Park – which the County is authorized to create under ordinances that I sponsored and that unanimously passed in 2007 when I was on the County Council – we would work with the railroads to move their tracks, in many places, away from our rivers, reclaiming our riverfronts for public use and protecting ourselves as a County from the possibility of enormous danger.  Finally, relative to air pollution, I would “think globally and act locally” by urging and advocating for all our residents to work to lessen their carbon footprint – bike and walk more; take public transit; and rely less on their cars and trucks.

If we want Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to be a beacon of sustainability – which would be my goal – we must take a broad and aggressive approach to these environmental issues.  I would do that.

Finally, it is important that we make big investments in our underserved, underrepresented, and low income communities, so they are offered the opportunities and resources to be safe, healthy, and fight pollution. Our worst air and water quality, and the least amount of greenspace, are found in low income communities, particularly in our urban core and in the old industrial towns along each of our 4 major rivers (e.g., McKeesport; Clairton; Elizabeth; Duquesne; Braddock; Millvale; Etna; Sharpsburg; West End; Stow; Coraopolis; Neville Island).  I would ensure that air pollution is more highly regulated countywide, especially in these areas, with the creation of a DEE, and with strict enforcement of our environmental protection laws, which presently are not being enforced.

This would include the creation of a transformative Countywide Riverfront Park, an amenity that would build upon our natural environmental advantages – our rivers, our green hills and our natural beauty – and breathe life back into our urban core and our old mill towns and riverfront communities that stretch up and down all of our rivers.

Sara Innamorato

As County Executive, I will crack down on pollution and help the industry find real solutions to reduce their environmental and public health impacts. I will direct our public resources to put people to work and repair the environmental damage of the past, not send billions to the wealthy few and big corporations with tax breaks and tax cuts.  I will work toward renewable energy solutions that are good for workers, good for families, and good for our climate.

I will first prioritize a set of policies that combine to both hold polluters accountable and create new union jobs for extraction workers.  I will harness the unique power of the County Health Department to regulate air pollution to make sure every child and family in our County is able to breathe clean air and afford to raise their family, while also creating a Made Clean in America Manufacturing Jobs plan to leverage our region’s unique manufacturing, technology, and research strengths to massively scale up green technology.  The Title 5 permitting process under the purview of the County Health Department is designed to keep our communities safe, not to prop up the pay-to-pollute model which currently exists.  I will appoint a Board of Health comprised of members with strong public and environmental health credentials who will put our health and safety first and create regulations that are based on science.  Similarly, I will appoint directors to the ALCOSAN board who prioritize public health and will work collaboratively with nonprofits and other agencies to make sure that the billions of dollars invested in the Wet Weather Plan actually address our challenges in a sustainable way – that recognizes the role climate change does and will continue to play in our region.  I will also encourage water authorities in the county to dramatically accelerate their efforts to remove and replace lead pipes.  There are billions of dollars of federal resources available to support these efforts and the County government will be a partner to these water systems in obtaining these resources.

We can create thousands of new jobs, build wealth equitably and sustainably, and bring life and hope back to all of the people and places that have been left behind.  As County Executive, I’ll make sure Allegheny County becomes a powerhouse of a new green economy, where our economy, our environment, and our public health are protected.

Michael Lamb

There’s a reason our children have the highest rates of asthma in the nation. We know our air quality disproportionately affects our marginalized communities –1 in 3 black children have asthma here in Pittsburgh.  We need to take a really close look at the standards of pollution that are allowed in our air and water and crack down on polluters and corporations.  Our air is leading to our personal decline as well as our county’s.

I got my start organizing the small steel mill river communities that were in decline.  These areas have been hit the hardest and have continued to be left behind.  That’s why I will create a RiverCommunities Authority to work directly with these communities on environmental justice and sustainable economic infrastructure, especially for black and brown individuals.

Through an Office of Municipal Partnership, we help communities build and invest in their own green projects, from expanding or transforming green space to building new green infrastructure in homes and businesses starting in our marginalized communities.

Something that we could do that would have an immediate impact would be to give all 7500 Allegheny County employees a bus pass to reduce vehicle emissions, strengthen our public transportation, and cut down on traffic.

John K. Weinstein

Our region has come a long way from its reputation as a smog-ridden industrial town, but of course there is much work still to be done. To be clear, every population and community matters to me and deserves every effort to ensure clean air, water, and natural resources. We need to do this together, and we need our County officials empowered and committed to enforcing the highest standards. I will do everything within my power as Executive to work toward that, and bring local, Commonwealth, and federal officials together to accomplish it.

How will your Administration gain corporate commitments to achieve net positive environmental impacts and also ensure that polluters are held accountable for violating the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts?

Dave Fawcett

As stated previously, I would create a Department of Environmental Enforcement to enforce existing rules and regulations.  My goal is to make Pittsburgh and Allegheny County a beacon of sustainability, building upon our natural advantages (rivers, hills and greenery) and both push environmental initiatives of all sorts while cracking down on polluters.  I was part of the group County Council that addresses the serious issues at the time that existed relative to Neville Island polluters, and I would plan to do so with industry polluters now.  The Shell Cracker Plant must be closely monitored for air and groundwater pollution.  We cannot afford to have a new industry that harms our environment.  Compliance will be required.  As a lawyer, litigator, and negotiator, I have the skills and the life experience to do these things.

Sara Innamorato

One clear opportunity to better engage the private sector is to expand and heavily market the County’s CPACE (Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy) program.  This program provides resources and incentives for commercial property owners to make significant renovations and retrofits to their buildings to reduce energy usage and shift towards more sustainable operations.  I will make it easier for companies to realize their sustainability goals and help disseminate best practices in partnership with our nonprofit and advocacy communities.  Any corporation that wants to voluntarily reduce their environmental impact and be part of the Just Transition we desperately need will have the full support and partnership of my administration.  But we also have to take a much stronger approach to those corporations that refuse and want to continue to pay to pollute and harm our communities.  As noted above, my Health Department and Board of Health will take this very seriously and put in place new and much stronger accountability and enforcement mechanisms.  We don’t have to be a sacrifice zone and we do not have to accept polluting industries in the heart of our communities.  The Just Transition is happening and we should be doing everything possible to attract clean technology and renewable companies here that will invest, create jobs, and help this region become the heart of the green economy in the United States.

Michael Lamb

I have spent the last 15 years of my career as Controller holding large entities accountable.  We’ve seen the effects of unchecked fracking and drilling in our region and how our communities have suffered because of it.  Future development and economic growth needs to take into account the impact on our environment.  To ease the transition to greener industry, we need to support endeavors that focus on developing cleaner energy.  In a place like Allegheny, where our largest polluters are also our largest employers, we need to work with our companies to help them understand and comply with regulations and build the workforce to enforce those regulations.  Let’s empower our Department of Health to communicate with our business to help them comply with regulations and work to develop remedial solutions and green initiatives as well as hold them accountable.  This, like many other issues, is partially solved by stronger communication – between the government, industry, and residents.  The bottom line is that we need to end our current pay-to-pollute model.

John K. Weinstein

Over my more than two decades as County Treasurer, I have had the great fortune of developing relationships across industries and sectors.  One of the benefits of that is we can work with one another to ensure we’re working toward the same goal.  Our public deserves a clean environment.  Our economy benefits from a clean environment that attracts the finest talent.  Our community is better for upholding the standards we’ve established, and I intend no less than to fully enforce them.

Responsible investments in infrastructure, transportation, food systems, and energy, are tools to advance multimodal transportation safety, our well-being, environmental performance, and economic prosperity. In what specific ways will your administration leverage federal funding (Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act) to encourage more sustainable infrastructure, multimodal transportation, food systems, and energy?

Dave Fawcett

Transportation and Infrastructure funds are plentiful now – and I would apply them to local environmental initiatives.  I also would be proactive with increasing ridership on our public transportation.  I also would seek to apply the new federal funds toward the increased use and manufacture of alternative energy – wind and solar – in Pittsburgh, which is necessary (and achievable) for us to become the beacon of sustainability we can be.

Additionally, pushing for these advances and positive changes will be supported directly by the creation of the Countywide Riverfront Park.  By advocating and implementing these sustainable and eco-friendly systems, there will hopefully be an increase in funding to spread these efforts county wide.

Sara Innamorato

We have an unprecedented opportunity to capture billions in new federal funding to transform our economy, create new jobs, and improve quality of life in Allegheny County.  I will be laser-focused on this goal as County Executive.  I will appoint nine regional experts to a new Sustainable Jobs action team and direct my Allegheny County Economic Development department to identify public resources available at the federal, state, and local levels to attract and retain sustainable companies including the creation of a new PA Clean Energy Jobs Tax Credit.  This team will have 30 days to provide a public report of actionable items with a focus on union jobs.  The team will be comprised of a member each from the US Senate, US House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Partner4Work, Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh, Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, and Allegheny Conference on Community Development.  I will work with our federal, state, and local partners to immediately engage the thousands of existing companies around the US receiving federal support for sustainable jobs.  Just last month, over 100 companies, with real jobs, received DOE support.  We can too.

Michael Lamb

First, I think the County needs to set the tone for the future of the region with investments in electric vehicles and alternative energy sources at all county facilities.

To draw down federal funding, you must apply for it.  We need to recognize that we are in competition with all other counties also fighting for this money.  We need somebody in the county executive seat who has a knowledge of how the county works and a deep understanding of how investment pieces fit together to concretely demonstrate how those dollars will be used.

Government, policy, and all politics, for that matter, are inherently intersectional.  When I led the charge to change our form of government and create this very position 25 years ago, I always knew that the main role of the county executive was to propel our region forward economically.  But how I thought about economic development then and now is different from how most think of it.  To me, to truly develop a region, we’ve got to invest in our people first and foremost.  It’s not about giving tax breaks to big businesses to incentivize them here, it’s about creating the kind of place where people want to live and businesses want to locate, and doing that in a future-proof way.  That means investing in us.  It means making higher education more accessible so that we have the green workforce we need to enforce regulations and build green infrastructure.  It means making sure that everyone can find a safe place to live, working with our municipalities and the different communities across this county to grow and thrive.  It means working with DHS to ensure that our people have access to the quality social service work they deserve to have.  It’s about cleaning up our streets and roads and making sure our air is breathable and our water is drinkable.  And it means starting to fix these issues where they have hit the hardest–in our marginalized communities.  To best use federal resources we need to demonstrate we have a realistic long term plan for the future of this county. I have that vision.

John K. Weinstein

Leveraging our resources to the greatest extent is absolutely imperative.  We need to draw on every possibility to improve this community, including everything from jobs, to infrastructure, to food security, and so many other matters.  We can do that.  We need leaders able and prepared to do that.

And how will you use these investments to create family-sustaining jobs for people who are typically excluded from these opportunities?

Dave Fawcett

With these funds and new opportunities, employment will be necessary.  With the creation of the Countywide Riverfront Park and strategies for improving sustainability, I would ensure that those who are typically excluded from family sustaining jobs will have access to employment opportunities to not only benefit themselves but the environment and county as a whole.

Sara Innamorato

A true Just Transition requires that we reorient the economic development infrastructure of Allegheny County away from a narrow focus on large polluting industries and towards a distributed set of emerging clean industries such as energy storage manufacturing, energy efficiency and home weatherization, ecological restoration and resilience, renewable energy production and installation, and others.  Many of these industries are already in Allegheny County but they haven’t received the attention and support from government that polluting industries have.  Until we change how the federal and state money flows into the county and which industries and job sectors are prioritized we cannot even begin this process meaningfully.  Another major issue is our existing jobs in the service and care sectors.  These are the fastest growing job sectors in the state and county and yet have the fewest job protections and some of the lowest wages.  I consider these sectors to be just as important as what we traditionally view as “green” job sectors.  They are rooted in place, they are deeply important to quality of life, and they disproportionately employ Black and Brown workers – especially women of color.  Raising the wage floor for these jobs and making them good, sustainable jobs is just as important a part of a Just Transition, yet these workers are too often missing from the narrative.

Michael Lamb

I mentioned it above, but one of the most impactful ways we can create jobs is making sure we lower obstacles to higher education or certification.  We have a great community college here.  Let’s use it. I propose the Allegheny Achievers program this year.  It would allow every high school senior in the county to go to community college for free.  It would be game changing for our region.

We can create certificates that will help our public works department find the personnel they need to build our green infrastructure.  We could staff our Department of Health with people who have been trained to enforce environmental regulations.  We have the opportunity to seize the robotics and tech coming out of our colleges and universities.  We can build a new industry and make it the greenest prototype and first stage manufacturing in the nation right here.

The reality is that we have jobs available here now – 60% of job vacancies here in Allegheny County require some sort of certification and not a four year degree.  We can fill that need right now and I plan to.

John K. Weinstein

This region built our nation. To maintain and grow, we need to ensure access to opportunity.  We need safe roads and bridges; we need quality schools; we need housing; we need good jobs.  That includes connecting private and public sectors, working with local leaders, rebuilding infrastructure, and ensuring access to basic needs.  I intend to make sure every corner of this County is supported.

Due to climate change, the Pittsburgh region is expected to experience increased rainfall and subsequently more devastating flooding and landslides.  Many of these impacts will disproportionately affect low-income and environmental justice communities the hardest.  How will your administration prepare for resilience and adaptation to increased extreme weather impacts?

Dave Fawcett

In order to prepare for resilience and adaptation to extreme weather impacts, it is important that measures are taken to address direct concerns of flooding and landslides, especially in low-income areas.  As County Executive, I would advocate as many common sense and important, green solutions to minimize the effects of climate change – e.g., more tree plantings; green stormwater capture strategies at the source and in our watersheds; and use of space, especially along our riverfronts, for green capture and storage of stormwater from rainfall and flooding.  This would protect infrastructure and surrounding communities by limiting the amount of excess water that comes from weather.  Additionally, it is important that we prioritize efforts taken, making sure we provide those in low-income areas suffering environmental injustice with our public investments.

Sara Innamorato

While this region is relatively climate resilient compared to other places, our abundance of freshwater resources and changing precipitation patterns create both a real opportunity and a potential threat if we don’t manage it well.  As noted above, there is a critically important role for ALCOSAN to play in this space and for the Wet Weather Plan and the billions included in it to serve as not just a compliance strategy but a true resilience strategy.  In order to do that I will ensure that ALCOSAN’s investments in green infrastructure solutions are increased as we know these solutions are better able to grow and evolve to meet the challenges of climate change than purely gray infrastructure.  We also need to take a serious look at a countywide stormwater fee and rebate program to accelerate adaptation and resilience measures and provide a new revenue stream to do so.  It’s another area where new federal resources are critical.  Through greater investment in our COGs and organizations like CONNECT we can absorb infrastructure dollars specifically programmed for climate adaptation and resilience and implement multi-municipal projects focused first on environmental justice communities most at risk.  We can also do much more on sourcewater protection to make sure that our precious water resources – one of our greatest regional competitive advantages – remain clean and safe.

Michael Lamb

Since I sit on the board of 3 Rivers Wet Weather, I am all too familiar with the hazardous effects of rainfall and climate change.  Excess water gets into municipal sewer systems, which vary in age and effectiveness. This results in untreated sewage and storm water overflowing into our streams and rivers causing a host of health issues and is in violation of the EPA’s Clean Water Act. Again, it’s the county’s responsibility to help municipalities build better models and systems to deal with increased flooding due to climate change, but also help these communities future-proof themselves by investing in infrastructure that will reduce emissions to combat climate change on the back and front end.  We can expand on the 3 Rivers Wet Weather model and expand ALCOSAN’s reach to every municipality in our region to make sure they have the resources they need to prepare for extreme weather.

John K. Weinstein

Our emphasis needs to be on all who are affected, not where they come from.  The reality is that many areas are more prone to sewage, backup, and slide issues than others – some resultant on geography, some resultant on resources.  We need a centralized overview of how and where such issues reside, and how to coordinate all aspects of local governments to address them immediately.

Safe parks, accessible trails, and inviting green spaces are elements of resilient infrastructure that add tangible and intangible value to our lives, including supporting physical and mental health.  What are some specific ways in which your administration will protect, improve, and expand the parks, trails, and green spaces in Allegheny County?

Dave Fawcett

As County Executive, I would create the Countywide Riverfront Park, which would provide the county with an immense area of greenspace – the greatest urban linear park in the world, stretching from county line to county line, with uninterrupted bikeways, greenspace and amenities all along the way.  This riverfront park would revitalize our many declining mill towns, adjacent communities and urban core, as well as move rail lines back to increase public safety.  The Countywide Riverfront Park would help be a beacon of sustainability as well as an area for community members to enjoy.

I would also be a champion of our existing County parks…for years, as a mountain biker and outdoor enthusiast, I have used virtually all of our County Parks, and I know them to be an incredibly valuable asset for our County.  We must continue to do everything to protect, preserve and invest in these gems.

Finally, we are losing greenspace at an alarming rate, mainly to new housing developments (see Allegheny Land Trust’s Report regarding this issue) and so revitalizing our urban core and our riverfront communities – all of which have existing housing stock, streets, libraries, churches and other amenities – would be my highest priority…allowing young and old people alike to have more sustainable and responsible options other than living in new developments.

Sara Innamorato

First, I strongly support the recent action County Council took to protect our parks from fracking.  But fracking is only one of the threats to our greenspaces, parks, and trails and we need to make sure that industrial development stays far away from these critical pieces of infrastructure and that existing industrial uses are much better regulated to protect people and the environment from potential threats.  Another piece of this is railroads and the potential for catastrophic derailments.  Most of our riverfronts and trails are bordered by rail lines.  This is why I have joined with federal and state officials to call for passage of the DERAIL Act and other interventions that would increase regulation of these rail corridors and reduce risk.  There are also many opportunities to expand our existing parks and green spaces and create new ones.  For example, I have worked closely with Mayor Reno of Sharpsburg and the developers of the Riverfront 47 site to move that project forward and to create the Brilliant Line trail bridge connection across the Allegheny River.  I know how to bring people together to get these kinds of projects done and I will take that experience with me to the County Executive’s office to deploy it countywide.

Michael Lamb

I supported the moratorium on fracking in our parks and will never allow fracking in any of our public green spaces.  We are incredibly lucky to have as much green space and river front as we do here in Allegheny.  The County needs to set a priority on preserving and restoring green space.  That means working with local organizations like Allegheny Land Trust to prioritize preserving and expanding green spaces across the county.  It’s up to the County to ensure proper funding for these initiatives once identified.  I pledge to secure that funding as County Executive.

John K. Weinstein

Our community is blessed to have an abundant amount of beautiful, natural resources.  They are a critical resource not only for our tourism industry, but both for maintaining and attracting the talent we need to keep growing.  They are a vital asset contributing to how this region develops, how we bring people and business in, and I will do everything within the Executive’s power to not only sustain them but also to enhance them.

None of these issues stop at the Allegheny County border.  What is your vision for providing regional thought leadership on these issues to ensure that the good work done in Allegheny County is encouraging regional progress on these issues?

Dave Fawcett

I would be the strongest possible advocate for preserving greenspace; lessening carbon footprint; increasing our use of alternative energies and sustainability not just for Allegheny County, but for our entire region.  It would be my #1 priority as County Executive because our future is becoming more green, more responsible, more sustainable…not only is it the right thing to do, but it will allow us to capitalize on our natural advantages to keep and attract people to our region.

But make no mistake, aiming high for the City and the County is the most important order of business.  When we become more sustainable, our entire region is likely to follow suit.  We can – as a City, County, and region – be a beacon of sustainability for all the world to see.

Sara Innamorato

As a first step I will enact a countywide fracking ban in Allegheny County.  This will have significant ripple effects outside of the county and send a very clear message that the Just Transition to a clean and renewable economy is underway. I will participate heavily in key regional bodies such as the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Ohio River Basin Alliance, Reimagine Appalachia, and others to make sure that our message and our priorities are at the table and to bring others along with us. Allegheny County is not an island and we can’t just act without our borders if we want to solve some of these huge regional, national, and global challenges.  I will also leverage the strong relationships I have built in the General Assembly to play a very active role with state government to secure both funding and legislative progress for Allegheny County.

Michael Lamb

As the only Democratic county in the region, we are positioned to lead the conversation on sustainable infrastructure.  It is critical that we continually raise awareness and push our neighbors to follow Allegheny’s lead in investing in sustainable infrastructure.  It’s also about lowering barriers to participation.  We can work with our neighbors to bundle investments and draw down federal dollars for regional projects to share the cost load while pushing our green agenda forward.  Strengthening communication and buy-in across the Western PA region is critical for all who live here, and Allegheny County and drive that progress.

John K. Weinstein

Allegheny County is home to 130 municipalities and more than 40 school districts.  It is also the heartbeat of this region, where many others come to work, attend school, or receive necessary services.  That isn’t just done right here; it takes collaboration between local, County, Commonwealth, and federal actors.  I’m proud to have built relationships at each of those levels, and I want to work toward building back this region from Day One.