Censuring Council Member Heather Heidelbaugh for remarks made during the course of the March 26, 2014 meeting of the Committee on Budget and Finance which, in the judgment of Council, violate the standards established by the Rules of Allegheny County Council and the Allegheny County Ethics Code.
WHEREAS, the Ethics Code of Allegheny County clearly establishes that all Council Members are to abide by the Code's standards for honor and integrity, and "[d]edicate themselves to the highest ideals of honor and integrity in all public relationships in order to merit the respect and confidence of covered persons, and the public;' and
WHEREAS, Article II, Rule M.9. of Council's Rules permits the censure of Council Members by motion for violating Council's own rules regarding decorum in the course of Council proceedings; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that this Rule was not intended to foreclose the availability of the censure motion for violation of other ethical or legal standards of behavior that are applicable to the Council Members in the course of conducting County business; and
WHEREAS, during the course of the Committee on Budget and Finance's March 26, 2014 meeting, Allegheny County Council Member Heather Heidelbaugh engaged in debate relating to Bill No. 8151-14, a resolution undertaking certain interdepartmental transfers withi n the County's 2014 operating budget; and
WHEREAS, in the course of this debate, Ms. Heidelbaugh compared Budget and Finance Chairman Michael Finnerty to Russian President and former KGB officer Vladimir Putin; and
WHEREAS, the comparison, made at a time at which President Putin was undertaking a forcible annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, an action that was widely publicized as constituting a violation of international law, inevitably implies that Chairman Finnerty was consciously undertaking violations of the Council's practice and/or rules relating to committee meetings; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article II, Rule M.3. of the Rules of Council, "[a] council members who has the floor shall refrain from dealing in personalities and impugning the motives of others."; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that these remarks and actions were unnecessarily confrontational and calculated to question the motivations of Chairman Finnerty; and
WHEREAS, it is further the judgment of Council that these effects are clearly contrary to the Ethics Code requirement that all Members of Council maintain "the highest ideals of honor and integrity in all public relationships in order to merit the respect and confidence of covered persons, and the public;" and
WHEREAS, Council has no choice but to conclude that, on March 26, 2014, Ms. Heidelbaugh intentionally violated both the Rules of Council and the Allegheny County Ethics Code; and
WHEREAS, Council additionally finds that this course of action could easily function to diminish the public's trust in Council as a legislative body;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY,
That Council Member Heather Heidelbaugh is hereby censured and reprimanded for willfully and intentionally engaging in behavior impugning the motivations of a fellow Member of Council, and, in the process, violating the standards of honor and integrity applicable to his position as a Member of Allegheny County Council under the terms of The Allegheny County Ethics Code, codified at ยง5-1013.09 of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County.
IT IS FURTHER MOVED,
That Ms. Heidelbaugh is to provide a formal written apology for her remarks to Chairman Finnerty, and is hereby admonished to refrain from similar behavior in the future.
PRIMARY SPONSOR: COUNCIL MEMBER FINNERTY