Allegheny County Democratic Party chair not running for re-election

Eileen Kelly, the chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, announced Friday that she is not running for re-election, forecasting a shift in leadership for the Pittsburgh region’s largest Democratic Party organization.

Kelly helmed the committee for that last four years and said she is proud of her tenure. She said she has a granddaughter that is expected to be born next month, and she wants to take time to give her energy to her growing family.

“My daughter got married and she is expecting a baby, and in this business if you are committed to this position, it isn’t a 9 to 5 position with no holidays,” said Kelly.

Her tenure had endured some squabbles as the committee has been criticized over its endorsement process with critics calling it obsolete, poorly representative, and cost-prohibitive. Calls for a change of leadership are not uncommon at the committee, and most recently occurred in 2020, after controversy over the committee endorsing a Democratic state House candidate who showed past support for Donald Trump.

Kelly defended her tenure. She said she was loyal to the committee and proud that she kept the endorsement process intact. She oversaw the committee endorsement process done by mail-in vote — a first — during the pandemic, and the historic endorsement of the first Black candidate for Pittsburgh mayor, Ed Gainey.

She also boasted that committee member numbers increased from 1,400 people at the start of her tenure, to 2,400 people at the end.

Others express interest in leadership

The news comes the same day that a group of Democratic elected officials called for new leadership. They endorsed Sam Hens-Greco for chair and Morgan Overton for vice chair, who has filed to run.

The committee is the official Democratic Party arm in Allegheny County. It is responsible for party functions like endorsements, special elections, and replacing nominees in case of emergencies or withdrawals.

Hens-Greco is the chair of Pittsburgh’s 14th Ward Democratic Committee, which includes very active East End neighborhoods with consistently high voter turnout.

Overton is the president of the Young Democrats of Allegheny County, and the first Black woman to hold that role.

So far, Hens-Greco and Overton are the only candidates to file to run for chair and vice chair. Candidates have until June 20 to file to run. The meeting to elect a new committee chair is Wednesday, June 29.

“Today, united as Democrats, we stand committed to building a more representative and diverse party,” said state Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-Lawrenceville. “We need new leadership.”

Innamorato was joined by state Reps. Nick Pisciottano, Summer Lee, Dan Frankel, Emily Kinkead, Jessica Benham, Martell Covington, and Dan Miller at the press event inside the portico of the Pittsburgh City-County Building.

Other state representatives and elected officials like state Sen. Jay Costa and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald were also there to support Hens-Greco and Overton.

Miller said the state House delegation as a group has not endorsed candidates to lead the county committee before, but he said it was necessary this year because of the importance of the 2022 midterms. He said having a strong county committee will be crucial in efforts to try to flip the state legislature from Republican hands into Democratic control.

“To Democrats throughout the county, this is not about division, it is about unity,” said Miller. ‘It’s an important year to fight for this ticket, top to bottom.”

Hens-Greco said if elected chair, he and Overton will increase efforts to boost the role of the hundreds of committee members as canvassers and extension of the party within neighborhoods. He said the committee is an ideal grassroots political organization, but he believes it hasn’t been utilized efficiently or effectively.

“We believe that we should be turning Allegheny County completely blue,” Hens-Greco said.

In 2020, while Democrats did well at the top of the ballot in Allegheny County, Republicans made gains locally, flipping a state House and a state Senate seat.

Some have criticized the ACDC endorsement fee, which can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the office, as a barrier to entry for potential candidates.

Hens-Greco didn’t specify how much he would lower it as chair, but said that endorsement fee shouldn’t be a barrier and there should be a clear understanding with candidates what the endorsement provides candidates. The committee prints slate cards with endorsed candidates and sends them to Democratic voters before elections.

14th Ward committee member Tracy Baton said she supports Hens-Greco because he is “excited about democracy” and because the committee has been too distant toward its members in the past.