For all the criticism that has been levied on Pittsburgh City Council over the years — much of it well deserved, we must emphasize, for public policies that have wholly disserved the public weal — sometimes it gets something just right.
Take, for instance, the council’s Thursday move to extend the term of Acting Police Chief Marty Devine until Feb. 1, 2026. And its rationale is clear and concise:
The new mayor, whether it be Democrat Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor or former police officer Tony Moreno, a Republican, should have the chance to choose, and vet, his own chief.
Of course, past being prologue:
The last elected Republican Mayor was Charles Kline (1926-33), who was convicted of rigging contracts and resigned. The last serving Republican mayor of Pittsburgh was John Heron (1933-34), appointed by City Council to complete Kline’s nine-month unexpired term.
Given the Democrats’ voter registration edge and O’Connor’s name recognition, O’Connor is the odds-on favorite to win this November.
Be all that as it may, whomever becomes the next mayor should have the opportunity to select his own chief. And that’s especially true given the revolving door of chiefs, “permanent” and/or acting under departing Mayor Ed Gainey.
City Council must confirm the next mayor’s police chief nomination.
But paramount to the next mayor choosing the next chief must be transparency, something sorely lacking when Gainey’s original choice for his new chief turned sour.
Sour, as in non-disclosure agreements in the search process and an apparent secret side deal that allowed the new chief to officiate NCAA basketball games. That, on occasion, unacceptably kept him away from his police duties.
So, yes, Pittsburgh City Council finally got something right. With a long history of getting so many things so wrong, the odds clearly were against it. Thus, let us all hail this remarkable development.
But that said, all of us should keep our wits about ourselves and not allow such an anomaly to cloud our judgment. For the stripes of pols who so regularly prosecute shortsighted public policies typically defy change.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
