PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center Launches Policy Agenda for Allegheny County Candidates & the Public
With the spring 2023 primaries for Pennsylvania’s local and county offices just weeks away, this year will be a critical one for choosing county and municipal leaders who will address our environmental challenges head on, and take aggressive action to protect public health. Nowhere is this more true than in the Pittsburgh region, where an open race for the Allegheny County Executive seat in the commonwealth’s second most populous county is open for the first time in nearly a dozen years. It’s a local position with significant power, so it will play a crucial role in setting the county’s environmental and public health agenda.
That’s why the PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center has brought together some of the Pittsburgh region’s top environmental policy organizations to develop the Green Allegheny Issue & Policy Agenda. The Agenda is a nonpartisan document intended to inform candidates and local concerned citizens about priority policy solutions that can help address the greatest environmental and public health threats facing Allegheny County.
Our partners in creating the Green Allegheny Issue & Policy Agenda include Women for a Healthy Environment, the Breathe Project, Clean Water Fund and Food & Water Watch.
The Green Allegheny Issue and Policy Agenda recommends 50 policies that county and municipal leaders can implement, including increasing penalties against air polluters who break the law, powering county and municipal buildings with 100% renewable energy, and banning certain single-use plastics.
The Agenda will be distributed to all candidates in Allegheny County, and candidates for County Executive, County Council and Pittsburgh City Council will be invited to meet with PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center to be briefed on the issues. All materials provided to candidates will be provided on the Green Allegheny Issue & Policy Agenda website.
Topics
Authors
Ashleigh Deemer
Deputy Director, PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center
Started on staff: 2018 B.A., Chatham College; Masters of Public Management, Carnegie Mellon University As the deputy director with PennEnvironment, Ashleigh oversees campaigns to protect clean air and clean water in Pennsylvania. She brings more than 15 years of experience in community organizing and government to her work to win policy change and hold decision-makers, agencies and polluters accountable. Most recently, she worked with colleagues and coalition partners to enact a ban on single-use plastic bags in Pittsburgh. Prior to joining PennEnvironment in 2018, Ashleigh served as a chief of staff in Pittsburgh City Council and organized clean air campaigns for Clean Water Action and the Clean Air Task Force. Ashleigh lives in the Pittsburgh region, where she enjoys gardening and engaging with her community.
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