Historic Win: Allegheny County Elects First Female Chief Executive

PITTSBURGH, PA — Sara Innamorato made history Tuesday by becoming the first female to be elected Allegheny County Chief Executive. She will succeed Rich Fitzgerald, who was term-limited and will leave office after 12 years.

Innamorato, a former Democratic state representative, defeated Republican Joe Rockey, a former banking executive. With 99.7 percent of the county's precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning, Innamorato had 186,098 votes to Rockey's 177,775.

Vote totals are unofficial until verified by the county elections board.

"I stand here tonight in awe of the trust you've placed with me, and I'm confident we can build an Allegheny County for us all," Innamorato told supporters Tuesday night at Mr. Smalls in Millvale.

Innamorato was the favorite to win the race, given that Democrats enjoy a 2-to-1 voter registration edge in the county. The election played out as expected, with Innamoroto capturing the heavily Democratic city vote, while Rockey fared well in the less populated suburban communities:

Innamorato 37, of Lawrenceville, is a former state representative who soon will be in charge of a county with a population of 1.2 million, a $3 billion budget, 7,500 employees, 400 miles of roads and 500 bridges.

Concerns were raised about her relative inexperience in government, but that didn't stop her from collecting a host of prominent endorsements.

Elected officials who endorsed her include U.S. senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Bernie Sanders of Vermont; U.S. Rep. Summer Lee of Pittsburgh; Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro; Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey; state representatives Dan Deasy and Jessica Benham and Pittsburgh city council members Erika Strassburger, Deb Gross, Barb Warwick and Bobby Wilson.

Congratulations from those officials poured in after the Associated Press declared Innamorato the winner shortly after 10 p.m.

Organizational endorsements for Innamorato came came from the Pennsylvania Working Families Party, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, several IBEW locals and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.