Several Allegheny County Council members say they will vote to remove Pat Catena as president

There are growing calls for Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena to step down from his leadership position. 

Seven council members said they will vote for his removal as president following Catena's mailers in his campaign to become a state representative that criticized trans athletes. The mailers said, in part, that his opponent "is a last minute candidate supported by an extreme left group that advocates for transgender athletes in our sports." Supporters of LGBTQ+ rights say it's anti-trans, and they want him to step down immediately. 

In a news release on Wednesday, seven council members said they plan to vote for Catena to lose his post as president at the next meeting on May 26. The members are Jordan Botta, Dan Grzybek, Bethany Hallam, Paul Klein, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Alex Rose and Lissa Geiger Shulma.

"Respect and tolerance for all is required for those who serve in our county government," the news release said. "Attacks on marginalized groups of people in service of one's own political advancement are not acceptable."

"How dare Pat Catena put folks in unnecessary harm's way for a vote and to win. So, the calls for him to resign from county council as president and he should. Our county council and our county deserves better leadership than what he has to offer," state Rep. La'Tasha Mayes said in a video posted to Instagram. 

Former KDKA political analyst Jon Delano talked to KDKA about whether a removal effort like this has ever happened before in local politics. 

"We've had a number of county council presidents over the years, but we've never had one that was forced to resign by motion of fellow council members," he said. "It will take eight members of the 15-member county council to remove a council president."

Right now, seven members are spoken for. After a council meeting on Tuesday, DeWitt Walton could be the deciding vote. He called for Catena to resign during the meeting. 

"County council members do have the right to replace their presidents, their chairman, their top leaders at any time by a motion," Delano said. "Now they cannot force a resignation from the county council."

That would require Catena's four-year term to run out. Then voters will have their say. However, with his run for the state House, if he wins the primary and then the general elections, he would likely step down. 

KDKA reached out to Catena on Wednesday but did not hear back.