Progressive Sara Innamorato and centrist Joe Rockey square off to become next Allegheny County executive

Allegheny County will see a new top elected official for the first time in 12 years, as a progressive candidate faces a Republican campaigning on centrist views who hopes moderate Democrats will cross party lines at the polls next week.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, a Democrat, is leaving office after three terms, which is the maximum allowed. One of two candidates will take over: Democrat Sara Innamorato of Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood or Republican Joe Rockey of Ohio Township.

Both have cast themselves as the obvious successor to Fitzgerald, while also attempting to paint the other as extremist and out of step with Allegheny County’s electorate.

Innamorato, 38, is a former state representative. She is a progressive who says her message of inclusion and coalition-building will help improve the county’s public services, boost affordable housing and improve public transportation.

Rockey, 58, is a retired PNC executive who is making his first run for an elected office. He is a self-declared centrist who has focused his campaign on improving public safety, as well as lobbying for more jobs and economic growth in Allegheny County.

Innamorato has accused Rockey of having ties to hardline conservatives and criticized conservative Philadelphia billionaire Jeff Yass for spending hundreds of thousands to support Rockey.

“(Yass) has spent millions of dollars supporting Republican election deniers and anti-abortion extremists,” Innamorato said at a press conference last week. “It’s the same reason why he’s supporting Republican Joe Rockey.”

Rockey has proved to be a hardworking nominee who has raised considerably more money than Innamorato and has garnered some significant endorsements.

“My opponent is offering the far-left agenda, as opposed to the middle like me,” said Rockey. He has attacked Innamorato over her former affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America and said she supports policies that are driving business away from Downtown and the county.

Democrats are at a significant advantage in Allegheny County, holding a 2-1 registered voter margin over the GOP. Only two Republicans have carried Allegheny County in a general election in more than two decades: Jim Roddey was elected county executive in 1999 and Tom Corbett won the county as part of his successful bid for governor in 2010.

And the Democrats have united around Innamorato. She has Fitzgerald’s endorsement and every influential Democrat in the state, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, has thrown their weight behind her.

With nearly $2 million spent on advertising for the race, the homestretch has become about how candidates define the electorate, their opponents, and themselves. Will Rockey’s pleas that Innamorato is too left-wing be able to sway enough Democrats to the Republican side? Or will Innamorato’s message unite Democrats and continue to push Allegheny County on a path of supporting progressives for local office?

Agreements and differences

There are many areas where the candidates agree, including condemning management of the Allegheny County Jail, welcoming immigrants as a means to grow the county’s population, and more aggressively enforcing air pollution violations.

But the policy differences between Innamorato and Rockey are fundamental.

Both want to address public safety, yet with different approaches.

Rockey said he wants to increase the county police force by 10% to address crime and vagrancy in Downtown and other neighborhoods.

Innamorato is open to increasing the number of county officers, but only if they request it. She believes public safety requires a holistic approach and suggests investing in housing, remediating blight and providing youth programs and green spaces throughout the county.

A stark difference between the two comes when looking at property reassessments.

Rockey opposes a countywide property reassessment, saying he believes it will lead to a tax increase on seniors and other longtime homeowners.

Innamorato supports a countywide reassessment — after creating protection for longtime owner-occupants. She also has noted state windfall protections prohibit assessments from jumping too high, and regular reassessments will provide equity for many low-income homeowners, who are facing a disproportionate burden currently. She said reassessments should occur on a regular basis.

The candidates also differ on a minimum wage policy passed by Allegheny County Council. In June, council passed a bill to establish a new minimum wage for county employees starting next year. That wage will eventually increase to $20 an hour. Fitzgerald, who opposed the measure believing that council did not have the authority to pass it, asked the court to weigh in on the bill.

Rockey said he would continue to support Fitzgerald’s legal decision to challenge the minimum wage bill. He didn’t specify if he believes in increasing county workers’ minimum wage, but said the challenge is also about determining if council has the authority to pass the bill.

“It’s about whether they can approve unfunded mandates,” he said. “It’s either a $30 million tax increase or they have to find that same cut out of the budget to fund that mandate.”

Innamorato supports the minimum wage increase for workers, but she would want to ensure the bill was written in a way that can be enforced.

“As long as it has legal standing and fits within our ordinances, and it can impact people and raise people’s wages, sure, I would sign that bill,” Innamorato said.

The topic of abortion has also produced differences between Rockey and Innamorato.

Rockey hasn’t shared his personal views on abortion access. He said his view is irrelevant, because the issue is a statewide or national issue that county politicians don’t control.

“We have been very clear in every single debate. It is not an issue that a county executive has authority over,” Rockey said.

Innamorato has rejected Rockey’s assessment that abortion is just a statewide or national issue. She said she would support a county law protecting abortion providers from out-of-state lawsuits if patients travel from out of state to seek abortions in Allegheny County. She also said health care for county workers will include benefits to cover abortion access.

“When we are talking about reproductive freedom and reproductive justice, we are talking specifically about things the county executive can do,” said Innamorato. “It’s very relevant.”

Innamorato also has backing on the issue from Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state’s top elected official.

Shapiro said it is critically important that Allegheny County has a pro-choice county executive, given its size and large number of health care institutions.

“In this race, if you care about a woman’s right to choose, there is only one choice and that is Sara Innamorato,” Shapiro said.

Ad blitz

Beyond their specific policy differences, the candidates have taken to advertisements and the headlines to attack each other as out of touch with the county’s electorate.

Rockey has spent just over $1 million on advertisements, according to campaign finance records.

He has garnered large contributions from trades unions that have endorsed his campaign, including the Pennsylvania District Council of the Laborers International Union of North America and its 24,000 members; the 3,000-member Steamfitters Local 449; and 1,000 members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 2.

He has said this is further proof he is the electable centrist, and Innamorato is too left wing.

His ads tout his mission to fill the 50,000 jobs Allegheny County has not recovered from the pandemic. Rockey said his experience as a PNC executive will be paramount in lobbying large businesses to move to Allegheny County and help him create policies to spur economic growth.

“Every single day, our campaign creates more and more momentum,” Rockey said. “We have great momentum with Republicans and independents. I get Democrats coming up to me daily saying they will vote for me.”

Rockey is easily lapping Innamorato on ad spending. In addition to his campaign’s spending, another $230,000 is being spent on ads supporting Rockey in the race by Save Allegheny County Action, a political group funded by conservative billionaire Yass. The group’s ads claim Innamorato would worsen public safety, raise taxes and turn Allegheny County into Portland, Ore.

Rockey said he isn’t coordinating with the political group, but he believes the concept of saving Allegheny County is the right concept.

“That is why people are rallying around the campaign and bringing the most momentum to our race,” said Rockey. “They want to fight crime and bring back jobs.”

Innamorato has spent about $295,000 on ads, according to campaign finance reports. Her ads target her coalition building and attack Rockey by attempting to paint him as anti-abortion.

But Innamorato said she will likely benefit from a more extensive ground game than Rockey. Dozens of unions, environmental groups and liberal advocates have endorsed her and will have volunteers canvassing neighborhoods to get out her vote.

“It’s not just about how much you spend on TV ads, it’s about having a good media strategy, but also that you have a good ground game, that you have endorsements that have members who will canvass,” she said. “It means you have organic connections with community leaders.”

In addition to most labor unions in the area, Innamorato also picked up recent endorsements from the 5,000-member Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 and the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which has 22,000 members in Allegheny County.

Rightful successor?

Rockey said he believes he is more in line with the last three county executives. The first Allegheny County executive was Jim Roddey, a Republican who won a close election in 1999. Roddey is on Rockey’s campaign committee and is backing him.

The county executives since have been similar to Roddey in governing from the middle and focusing on keeping taxes low, Rockey said.

“I believe I represent the prior three county execs more than Innamorato does,” he said. “All three were centrists. And focused on keeping the taxes at bay.”

He said his support from labor unions that tend to support Democrats shows he is getting momentum from the center.

Innamorato countered Rockey’s claim by pointing out Fitzgerald endorsed her.

Rockey is going to need significant support from Democratic voters to prevail. Republicans have been making registration gains in the county, but Democrats still hold that 2-1 voter registration edge. Recent elections show Democrats typically win the county by at least 25 points during general elections.

Innamorato praised Fitzgerald for leaving the county in a strong financial position with several economic development projects in the works. Innamorato said she believes she is a natural continuation of the county embracing more progressive policies.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.