A new challenger for Allegheny County Council’s at-large Democratic seat accused the incumbent — one of the highest-profile progressives in local politics — of siding with election deniers when she voted to delay full certification of the Nov. 8 results.
The vote came during a raucous meeting of the county Board of Elections on Nov. 28, when a crowd of people tried to stop the three-member panel — which includes incumbent Democratic Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, Republican at-large Councilman Sam DeMarco and Democratic County Executive Rich Fitzgerald — from putting its stamp of approval on the results. The attempted disruption was part of a wave of similar efforts to gum up the electoral process organized across the country by those who still falsely claim President Joe Biden stole the 2020 election.
“My opponent made the very dangerous and irresponsible decision to side with the insurrectionists and delay certification of the election results based on claims by election deniers,” Ms. Hallam’s Democratic challenger, Joanna Doven, wrote in a statement announcing her candidacy.
At the meeting, members of the public tried to raise doubts about the integrity of the county’s results, which were part of a historic midterm election in an key battleground state. Some speakers cited debunked claims about election irregularities while others presented allegations that the results were tainted without providing evidence to back them up. They noted that a judge was still reviewing recount petitions in 12 precincts, and demanded the Board of Elections not certify any results in the county.
The county’s lawyer said the petitions — part of a statewide effort to try to get courts to order recounts even when the candidates weren’t contesting the results — had no merit and advised the board to certify the results in full.
Ms. Hallam and Mr. DeMarco, the county GOP chairman, proposed certifying results in all but those 12 precincts until the judge weighed in, out-voting Mr. Fitzgerald, who wanted to certify all results. A judge dismissed the petitions Dec. 9.
The primary sets up a battle between the party’s left wing — which swept Ms. Hallam and other insurgent progressives into office over long-time Democratic incumbents in 2018 and 2019 — and the more centrist elements that have long shaped Allegheny County politics. Ms. Doven, the owner of a communications firm and former press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, wrote she wanted to “re-anchor” the party.
Ms. Hallam and Ms. Doven declined to comment, citing support for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers who are on strike, some of whom have pressured local elected officials to stop speaking to the paper until the labor dispute is resolved.
First Published: January 4, 2023, 5:31 p.m.
Updated: January 5, 2023, 11:28 a.m.
