A retired financial executive entered the race Wednesday for Allegheny County executive, pitching himself as a moderate Republican who could attract voters of all political stripes and win back suburbanites who have for years slipped away from his party.
Joe Rockey, of Ohio Township, said from his campaign launch event at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown hotel that the county needs a new Renaissance focused on its people — a reference to past economic development efforts of the 1960s.
“It’s not enough to put up new buildings and arenas without the people to fill them,” he said. “It’s about creating opportunities, building futures and supporting the families of our region. People need to feel invested in being here. That can only happen if we invest in them.”
A North Side native whose family struggled financially while he was growing up, Rockey pledged to reinvigorate economic development efforts. He said a stagnant economy has “three co-conspirators: poverty, crime and homelessness,” which must be tackled.
“We will partner with business, labor, our foundations and universities, and start the necessary task of creating better jobs by building a stronger workforce,” he said. “We can bring jobs here to Pittsburgh, and it’s not just something we should do for ourselves. It’s something we should do for our children and their future.”
Rockey worked at PNC Financial Services for more than two decades, culminating in his last role as chief risk officer. He has also been involved for years in local charity work, with stints on the boards of Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and Morgantown.
Rockey is expected to be the only Republican to enter the race, party leaders said, letting him focus on winning over voters for the November general election. Jason Richey, a partner at the law firm K&L Gates who briefly ran in last year’s Republican gubernatorial primary, had announced intentions to run for county executive but ultimately decided against it. Six Democrats have entered the race thus far, including state Rep. Sara Innamorato, Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb and county Treasurer John Weinstein.
Democrats and Republicans will head to the ballot box May 16 to vote in this year’s partisan primary and select who they feel is best from their party to lead Pennsylvania’s second-largest county. And given the area’s Democratic tilt — the party’s candidates often win the county by 20 points or more in general elections — whoever wins the Democratic primary will likely take office next year.
The stakes are high for voters, given that the executive can play a major role in setting the county government’s agenda on issues such as air quality, property taxes and the county jail; proposes the county’s $1 billion budget; and fills seats on boards and commissions. The current county executive is Rich Fitzgerald, a term-limited Democrat who will complete his third and final term at the end of this year.
Rockey has not been very politically involved in his life, but Federal Election Commission records show he has donated in the past to several Republican candidates, including former U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey and Richard Shelby, and former U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta and Paul Ryan. He also donated to former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat.
Rockey, whose dad was a union member and loyal Democrat, said he stands in “the middle” politically and is ready to work with anybody to improve the county.
“If that sounds like you, whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican or an independent, I think we share the same values. I think we all believe in commonsense solutions that work for people,” he said. “We’re the real political majority in Allegheny County. Bringing the middle together is how we get things done and grow our economy for every family.”
Local Republican leaders are bullish on Rockey’s chances.
Jim Roddey, the only Republican elected as county executive since the position’s creation in 2000, is chairing Rockey’s campaign. He said county residents need someone who’s not going to “push extreme political theories,” adding that “the only thing that’s extreme about Joe is his desire to get things done.”
Sam DeMarco III, who chairs the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, said members of his party are looking for problem solvers and not someone who fits a specific ideological mold. He cited that state Sen. Doug Mastriano, the far-right Republican nominee for governor who lost by double digits last November to now-Gov. Josh Shapiro, only secured 38% of the primary vote in the county.
DeMarco added that he considers past county executives to not be bound tightly to specific policies and instead govern as centrists. He said Rockey matching this style would allow him to compete for voters across the county.
“I really think it’s not a matter of Republicans having to win back suburbs or voters to the party. It’s really candidate based,” he said. “I think it’s based on candidates, not the party, you know? And I think Joe is an excellent candidate that will appeal to those types of folks.”
Democrats have made large gains in voter registration over the past few years, generally in more affluent suburbs and among disaffected Republicans, part of a larger trend of many communities across the country shifting toward the party during the Trump presidency.
For example, affluent Fox Chapel voted by nearly 18 points for Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential election, but the borough helped send President Joe Biden to the White House in 2020 with a 23-point margin of victory.
Allison Stein, who leads the Fox Chapel Democrats, told the Union Progress that she thinks Rockey may find it difficult to differentiate himself from past Republican candidates.
“I think that he has a higher bar because of the Mastrianos in his party,” she said. “If you look at the platform he’s come out on, where he’s using language like extremists and insiders, that’s all the same negativity that’s been coming out of the Republican party. And I don’t think that wins over people.”
Stein noted that Rockey’s campaign website doesn’t mention anywhere that he is a Republican, potentially for this reason.
“I don’t think I need to speak to that. It speaks for itself,” she said.
Jon, a copy editor and reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and working as a co-editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Reach him at jmoss@unionprogress.com.
