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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County expressing the Sense of the Council of Allegheny County urging the Allegheny County Government Review Commission to thoroughly consider recommending that the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County be amended to provide for the creation of one additional At-Large Allegheny County Council seat in order to guarantee representation for individuals not affiliated with either major political party.
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WHEREAS, the citizens of Allegheny County adopted a Home Rule Charter, effective January 1, 2000, which provided for, among other things, a new County government as required by the Second Class County Charter Law consisting of an elected chief executive, an elected county council and the Independently Elected County Officials known as “the Row Officers”; and
WHEREAS, as originally drafted, the Home Rule Charter provided for an Allegheny County Council comprised of 13 Members elected by District and 2 At-Large Members, with one of the At-Large seats essentially guaranteed to each of the two major political parties; and
WHEREAS, those Allegheny County residents choosing to remain unaffiliated with either major political party has increased to 112,801 voters (or 13.2% of the total registered voters in Allegheny County) since the Home Rule Charter was drafted over fifteen years ago; and
WHEREAS, approximately 94,000 County residents (or about 7.8% of the County’s population) live within each Council District; and
WHEREAS, according to published reports and Pennsylvania Department of State statistics, third-party or non-party registrations grew by 18 percent statewide in the past 10 years, by 20 percent in Western Pennsylvania and by 22 percent in Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that the substantial and increasing number of Allegheny County residents registering as Independents and non-affiliated with any political party should justify the consideration of establishing another at-large Membe...
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