Sara Innamorato sworn in as Allegheny County’s first female county executive

PITTSBURGH — A packed house witnessed history on Tuesday at the Byham Theater as decades of county representation showed up.

“Today we are making history, or should I say, herstory,” said Sara Innamorato.

Innamorato was officially sworn in as the first female to hold the office of Allegheny County Executive.

“I served with her in Harrisburg, I saw how hard she fought for working families, she never wavered, she never backed down…I know from Day One she’s going to go get it,” said Mayor Ed Gainey.

Her message to residents from the campaign to her first day is unification and making Allegheny a “County for All.”

“I talked about the economic transformation our region needs to begin. About affordable housing and keeping seniors in their homes. About good union jobs, clean air and clear water,” Innamorato said.

Innamorato said no one person can solve the problems and she knows her motto will mean different things to different people. That’s why she is starting her term by traveling to all county corners.

“We will hear directly from all of you on what this administration can do to improve your lives, to make our neighborhoods more connected and to make our region stronger,” Innamorato said.

She’s starting with the more than 1000 open positions at the county by reviewing salary bands, minimum wages and removing degree requirements to build up the workforce. Plus, she will add new offices for worker protection and positions focused on affordable housing and the environment.

“I’m also going to focus my administration on leveraging the historic amount of federal dollars available for investments in emerging industries, a clean energy economy and climate resilient infrastructure,” Innamorato said.

There is a lot of change as Innamorato’s transition team continues to work on nine policy committees and launches a county-wide survey to engage the public in her ideas.

“The community’s priorities will be the county’s priorities,” Innamorato said.

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