A familiar name in Pittsburgh city politics is now eyeing the top leadership job in Allegheny County.
Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb, a Democrat who has held the seat since 2008, announced Monday that he will run for Allegheny County executive.
Lamb is hoping to replace County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, whose term ends at the end of 2023.
“When I look at my career in public service, from the reform we did that actually created the position of county executive, to the work we do here every day making government more transparent and fighting corruption, this experience makes me uniquely qualified for this job,” Lamb told the Pittsburgh Union Progress.
Lamb, an attorney who lives in Mount Washington, worked the polls in the late 1990s to advocate for the county executive position.
Jim Roddey, a Republican, was the first to hold the office from 2000 to 2004.
Responsibilities of the county executive include submitting a budget and legislation to County Council as well as appointing members to county boards and authorities, including the newly formed independent police review board.
Fitzgerald, a Democrat, was elected to the role in 2012. He won reelection in 2019 by a wide margin — more than 36 percentage points. The office is limited to three consecutive terms.
Prior to being elected as the county’s leader, Fitzgerald, a Squirrel Hill resident, represented District 11 on Allegheny County Council from 2000 to 2011, serving as council president four times.
Lamb previously served as the county’s prothonotary — the last to hold that office. In 2005, county residents voted to consolidate the row offices, eliminating the position, a move for which Lamb says he advocated.
Lamb’s platform for his 2023 run includes making a “county government that is transparent and accessible” and engaging with others “even when they are in opposition.”
“I think that’s an important part of what it’s going to take to be county executive,” he said.
His biography touts his role in forming the Congress of Neighboring Communities, or CONNECT, as a vehicle for Allegheny County’s neighboring governments to work across borders.
The county is home to 130 municipalities, of which Pittsburgh is the largest.
As controller, Lamb has been outspoken that large tax-exempt nonprofits, including Pittsburgh’s health care giants and universities, should pay their “fair share” into the city’s coffers. However, Lamb was a vocal critic of former Mayor Bill Peduto’s OnePGH proposal, a plan to funnel donated funds from the large entities into a separate nonprofit fund to address city issues.
Lamb ran for the statewide office of Pennsylvania auditor general but lost in the May 2020 Democratic primary.
Rachael Heisler, Pittsburgh’s deputy controller, announced Sunday that she will run next year to fill Lamb’s seat as the city’s fiscal watchdog.
Former acting Allegheny County controller Tracy Royston is also running for the position.
City controller is one of two independently elected citywide seats and is not term limited.
The office produces the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and audits the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, Pittsburgh Parking Authority, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, and the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, which all maintain independent budgets.
The office is also responsible for several performance audits of various city departments, now including the Bureau of Police, a requirement of a referendum passed by Pittsburgh residents in November 2020.
