County Executive Rich Fitzgerald endorses Joanna Doven in Allegheny County Council race
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald urged Democrats on Wednesday to support County Council candidate Joanna Doven over incumbent councilwoman Bethany Hallam in the May primary.
Fitzgerald said that Doven, who is a businesswoman, single mother, and veteran of the O'Connor and Ravenstahl administrations, has what it takes, the experience to represent all parts of Allegheny County, and Fitzgerald criticized her opponent, Bethany Hallam, also a member of the county elections board, for not certifying the election of John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro.
"The person she's running against has been, quite frankly, a danger to democracy. She voted against the certification of the 2022 election. She voted with the chairman of the Republican Party against the Democratic County Executive in a 2-to-1 vote to not certify the election," Fitzgerald said.
"We did certify the 2022 election on the date we were supposed to certify it. So, off the bat, that is a bad-faith talking point. What we did say was that we were not going to supersede a judge's order. There were pending petitions of precincts being challenged," the incumbent, Bethany Hallam, argued.
"As you know, Jon, Rich does not make many endorsements. He holds people to a very high standard. You know how hard he works. He's out every day, 24/7, so he looks for people who can exude leadership like he does. So, [I am] very humbled," Doven said.
Allegheny County Democratic voters will choose their nominee in the primary on May 16, 2023.
