Bottom line
Candidates for county executive must first deliver on job growth
Anew report from the business-labor alliance Pittsburgh Works Together shows Allegheny County seriously lagging comparable communities in job creation. Reversing this trend must be a top priority for whoever replaces threeterm County Executive Rich Fitzgerald at the end of the year. Candidates who won’t, or can’t, do the down-and-dirty work of promoting the region and negotiating with business and labor, and other branches of government, shouldn’t apply for the job of Allegheny County’s CEO.
Much is at stake: Over the past five years, Allegheny County has lost 50,000 jobs, more than five times that of any other county in the commonwealth, based on data from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The county’s lob losses are worse than comparable counties in Ohio — namely, Hamilton ( Cincinnati), Franklin (Columbus) and Cuyahoga (Cleveland) — reports Pittsburgh Works Together. Over the last year, Allegheny’s post-COVID recovery has lagged all those counties.
That’s bad news for everyone in this region: Economic progress is essential to social progress. The top issues in the Democratic primary will likely center on equity and social justice, including reforming the Allegheny County Jail, but economic development underpins progress on all those fronts, as well as making the region a better and safer place for all residents, regardless of class, gender or race.
Consider the attractive plan by City Controller Michael Lamb to provide community college funding to every high school graduate. The socalled Allegheny Achievers plan, which calls for no tax increases to fund the scholarships, depends on renewed economic activity. Regional Asset District funds, plus a Pittsburgh Promise-style collaboration between philanthropic organizations and county businesses, could generate the money — but only if they’re healthy and growing.
Or take state Rep. Sara Innamorato’s highly appealing, but fuzzy, pledge to provide “housing for all” in the county. Money to build, or subsidize, new housing must come from somewhere. The county needs jobs and economic development to pay for it.
Some of the most important jobs of the county executive include the unglamorous work of meeting and dealing with business leaders considering locating in the county; collaborating with regional development groups, such as the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its subsidiary, the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce; and building bridges with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s revitalized Department of Community and Economic Development.
Now more than ever, the value of the lofty campaign goals proclaimed by county executive candidates depends on how successfully they can deliver on economic development. Candidates who are either uninterested or incapable of becoming Allegheny County’s chief booster, promoter and job-creator should look for another job.