Dems vote to nominate Zavarella for District 8 County Council spot

Democratic committee members selected interim Allegheny County Councilman Paul Zavarella as their nominee for the County Council District 8 election Saturday.

Chairwoman Eileen Kelly said Mr. Zavarella, who previously had been chosen by County Council to serve until the municipal election in November, received a plurality of 48 votes at Saturday’s nomination convention. Bhavini Patel received 31 votes; 23 delegates voted for Ryan O’Donnell.

Mr. Zavarella, a Plum attorney, was chosen by council in June over Mr. O’Donnell, Ms. Patel and nine other candidates to serve as interim councilman following the May death of longtime Councilman Charles Martoni.

The district’s Republican committees also have an opportunity to nominate a candidate, but they have yet to set a convention date. The candidates will face off in a special election coinciding with the November municipal elections.

The winner will take office as soon as the election is certified and serve the remainder of Mr. Martoni’s term, through 2021.

“I would like to thank all the committee members who came to vote, and all those who had to work and couldn’t come,” said Mr. Zavarella after Ms. Kelly announced the results.

“I look forward to working with my two opponents,” said Mr. Zavarella. All three candidates spoke well of their

competition.

District 8 includes Braddock, Braddock HiIls, Chalfant, East McKeesport, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Monroeville, North Braddock, Pitcairn, Plum, Rankin, Swissvale, Trafford, Turtle Creek, Wall, Whitaker and Wilmerding. More than 140 committee members for those districts of Allegheny County were eligible to vote Saturday.

Ms. Patel and Mr. O’Donnell both hail from Edgewood. Mr. O’Donnell is a social worker and member of Edgewood borough council. Ms. Patel is the vice chair of the Edgewood Democratic Committee and founded a data technology company.

Each candidate had to pay $1,000, which Ms. Kelly said “helps pay for the venue” and other costs.

Supporters in attendance for Mr. Zavarella included county council Vice President Nick Futules, DOakmont.

“He got appointed by us,” Mr. Futules pointed out, although he abstained from the council vote because he’s a client of Mr. Zavarella’s law firm.

Mr. Futules said he had been impressed with Mr. Zavarella’s quick uptake as an interim councilman: “He was pretty much up to speed pretty quick. He paid attention to what was going on on council.”

Mr.Zavarella has served in public office before, as a municipal solicitor and a magisterial district judge. During the campaign, he pointed to his experience, and his semi-incumbent status, as reasons to make him the nominee.

Mr. Zavarella is the son of the late Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Zavarella.

Ms. Kelly said she was pleased with all three candidates. “We had an excellent woman. This is the very first time she got involved. She did very well. And [Mr. O’Donnell] was also excellent. They all worked hard.”

“I think it was an incredible learning experience. I look forward to staying engaged,” said Ms. Patel. She said that while she is not a “conventional candidate,” as the daughter of an immigrant food truck owner, she found everyone very nice and open-minded.

“The campaign has been a lot of fun. I appreciate my opponents,” said Mr. O’Donnell.

County Democratic Committee bylaws appear to require a majority vote, but Ms. Kelly said the winner would only need a plurality. Neither losing candidate has challenged Mr. Zavarella’s nomination.