Ballot questions can present challenges for voters seeing them for the first time on election day. Often full of confusing legal language, the questions deserve time and consideration ahead of Election Day. This year all Allegheny County residents will be asked whether they believe county council members should be allowed to retain their seats while running for other offices. Wilkinsburg residents will also be asked whether they want to establish a home rule study commission.
Allegheny County: Home Rule Charter ballot amendment
The Question: Shall Article III, Subsection 6(b) of Allegheny County's Home Rule Charter be repealed in order to allow Members of County Council the same freedom of right to seek other elected office as is accorded to all other independently elected officials in Allegheny County, such that Council Members are permitted to run for nomination or election to elected office other than that of County Council Member without first having to resign from County Council?
The Home Rule Charter requires county council members to resign from office before they are able to run for any federal, state, county, or local elected office. The charter, including the rule, was originally approved by voters on May 19, 1998 and became effective Jan. 1, 2000.
The proposed amendment would repeal the rule, allowing council members to keep their seats while running for other offices.
Wilkinsburg Borough: Proposed Home Rule Charter Government Study Commission Special Election Question
The Question: Shall a Government Study Commission of seven members be elected to study the existing form of government of the municipality, to consider the advisability of the adoption of a home rule charter and, if advisable, to draft and to recommend a home rule charter?
The ballot measure would create a seven-member commission to review and advise on whether the borough should adopt its own home rule charter. Supporters, including neighborhood group Wilkinsburg Future, see this as an alternative to a movement in support of annexation of the borough by Pittsburgh.
If approved, the commission “will be staffed by seven commissioners elected on the same ballot and funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and the Borough of Wilkinsburg,” according to Wilkinsburg Future.
As reported by TribLive, supporters of the measure believe the potential home-rule charter would offer more control over local government and increase access to grants to fund services in Wilkinsburg. The Wilkinsburg Community Development Corp., which has led the annexation efforts, is urging voters to reject the commission.
