2009 Allegheny County Council Candidates
District 1
Matt DROZD (R)
District 3
James R. BURN Jr. (D)
District 4
Michael J. FINNERTY (D)
Dean PETRONE (R)
District 8
Charles MARTONI (D)
District 9
Bob MACEY (D)
District 12
Jim ELLENBOGEN (D)
District 13
Amanda GREEN (D)
DISTRICT 1
Thomas MICHALOW
1. Do you support the creation of a Human Rights Commission at the county level? Why or why not?
Yes. Councilperson Green’s proposed legislation will essentially create for the county what has existed already in the City of Pittsburgh for decades. It is critical that all persons, regardless of their background, have their civil liberties and human rights protected.
2. What do you believe are the most important environmental challenges facing the county, and how do you believe they should be addressed?
The easiest to address is the retrofitting of diesel engines with the new catalytic converters. This issues needs to be addressed at a national level but I know that there are efforts underway now to start locally. A much more difficult one to address is industrial pollution from various sites including the one in my back yard, Neville Island. The tools one has at the local level are limited to the Board of Health, which though it has some power cannot solve a national problem. Thus, this issue needs to be addressed at the higher levels of power where the policies are made. One has to be careful not to drive jobs out of the area or the nation, but the past Presidential Administration made it too easy to pollute. At the local level, we should work with industry to insure compliance, while at the state and federal level, we should advocate for fair trade and the re-instatement of the super-fund.
3. What changes do you think the county needs to implement to our public transit system in order to improve energy and fuel efficiency and enhance the sustainability of our communities and municipalities?
It is amazing to me that in the heart of steel country that we do not have a public transportation system based on rails. The long term plans of extending the T-rail to the whole county and beyond needs to be kept moving forward. And, as I said retrofitting the bus fleet with the new exhaust scrubbers would go a long way to improve air-quality.
4. Do you support the enactment and enforcement of laws that help prevent violence, intimidation, and harassment specifically directed at reproductive health providers and their patients, including the established “buffer zone”?
Yes. Whenever I see the protesters at parades or at clinics, I always think of the crowd of people Jesus stopped from stoning the women by saying “let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone…” (John 8. 7)
5. What will be the most important thing for you to accomplish as a member of County Council?
I am not running on a specific issue. I simply want to do the job that is required of an elected official which is to advocate for the people who live in the district. This job is not getting done and I hope to bring to the county level the same strong voice for good government that I brought to Avalon Council.