Sara Innamorato asked local leaders at her inauguration ceremony Tuesday not to fear change as she begins trying to cure what she sees as major shortcomings in county government. Hundreds witnessed Innamorato take the oath of office as the fourth Allegheny County executive at Downtown Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater, including former Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who finished his 12th and final year as executive Tuesday morning.
Movers and shakers in the local Democratic party were on hand to watch the start of a new era for county government as it switches hands from Fitzgerald’s more moderate, development-minded approach to Innamorato, a leader of the progressive movement that has seized power in municipal and county government over the past five years. Even more change: Innamorato, 37, is the county’s first female executive.
Innamorato began her inaugural address just after 12:30 p.m. by thanking both Fitzgerald and another former executive in attendance, Dan Onorato, for their service to the county. But she quickly pivoted to a 30-minute speech that homed in on where county government has fallen short — and how she will change its course.
She lamented the county’s slow economic recovery from the pandemic, its relatively small immigrant population and economic and health disparities affecting marginalized people.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s historic inauguration on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2023, at the Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. Innamorato, a lifelong resident of the county, became the first woman to hold the position. At top left, her family, with her mother at center, Kim Innamorato, applauds. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)E
“In too many cases, those differences stem from shortcomings in our approach to economic development, to social services and to justice,” Innamorato said. “We don’t need to be ashamed of these facts and where we fall short, but we do have to acknowledge it.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, one of Innamorato’s political allies, said he saw her potential while the two served in the state House together from 2019 through 2021.
“I watched how hard she fought for working class families,” Gainey said. “… She never wavered and she never backed down.”
After bitterly fought primary and general elections that were partly defined by endorsements and giant campaign donations from political committees of labor unions, the region’s top labor leader held one of just two speaking slots before Innamorato’s inaugural address.
Innamorato faces an Allegheny County Council that clashed with her predecessor
Darrin Kelly, the president of the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, which endorsed rival Democrat John Weinstein in the primary but backed Innamorato in November, set high expectations for Innamorato’s dealings with organized labor in the coming years.
“Working families will have a place at the table in this administration, not because it’s the political thing to do, but because it’s within her heart,” Kelly said.
Innamorato closed her address saying the county can overcome major challenges — homelessness and population stagnation, to name two — but not without some major changes.
“You won’t find anyone more enthusiastic than me about fries on salads and cookie tables,” she said. “But nothing about loving tradition means you have to fear change.”
Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
