Editorial: Dissenting votes should be applauded amid political rhetoric
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On Tuesday, the Allegheny County Council did something that doesn’t happen very often.
It overrode a veto by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. By a vote of 10-5, the council decided that its earlier vote to establish a minimum wage for the county’s employees would stand.
It was only the second time such a veto was overcome in the 11 years and 5 months Fitzgerald has been in office.
The vote did not go along party lines, as many things don’t with the overwhelmingly Democratic council. Yes, all 10 of the votes in favor of the three-year stepped increase to $20 per hour minimum were Democrats, but so were the three who joined the two Republicans to vote no.
That is a good thing. It means that people are realizing this is an important issue that is bigger than partisanship. It is more complicated than boiling it down to blue and red, good and evil, yes and no.
For Democrat Fitzgerald, he says it isn’t about opposition to higher wages for county workers. What he does object to is council taking on power he is adamant it does not have. Allegheny County is one of seven Home Rule Charter counties in Pennsylvania. (It’s eight if you count Philadelphia, but as a city-county, it is really a different animal.)
Since 2000, it has existed in this position, one where the county assumes more control of its own destiny. Other counties can only do what the state constitution allows. A home rule county can do anything the state constitution doesn’t specifically forbid. Fitzgerald says the pay issue falls outside the council’s authority under the charter, and he hasn’t ruled out a legal challenge, despite having just over six months left in office.
A similar issue is playing out in Harrisburg. The state House of Representatives had a much closer vote Tuesday, with 103 lawmakers voting to slowly raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026; 100 representatives opposed.
Most House votes are close with the slim Democratic majority. However this vote wasn’t strictly by party lines. One Democrat voted against the bill. Two Republicans voted for it.
This is how government should work.
Council members should feel free to vote their conscience regardless of party. A county executive should be able to take a stand based on concerns about the process more than the politics. State legislators should not be considered a lock for a yes or no vote based on their party affiliation.
There are good arguments for and against establishing a floor for the county’s paychecks and for increasing the state’s overall minimum wage. Elected officials are put in office to listen to those arguments and then make decisions. That’s what happened, and everyone should applaud it.
The House bill now heads to the Senate. Will the same thing happen there? Unlikely as the Legislature prepares for its annual down-to-the-wire political budget battle.