Q&A with Michael Lamb, Candidate for Allegheny County Chief Executive

To date, Mike Lamb is the first and only candidate for County Chief Executive to respond to this Q&A. Others have requested, but not returned a completed Q&A yet. Make of that what you will.

Housing is the most basic of human needs and rights. Affordable housing needs to be a priority for our next County Executive. I want to put the ability to own or rent a home back into the hands of the people. We have many tools at our disposal–whether it be through land banks, stronger code enforcement, or a tax claim bureau to expedite the process of reintegrating properties into communities, I will be tackling this problem on day one.

The next post in our 2023 primary election season series ‘Political Q&A’ with progressive candidates throughout Pennsylvania. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any level of office. Please note that these are not necessarily endorsements, more of an opportunity for candidates to connect with the LGBTQ community, progressives neighbors, and others with an interest in Western Pennsylvania. If your candidate would like to participate, please contact us pghlesbian at gmail dot com. We welcome candidates at all levels of government across the entire Commonwealth.

By participating, candidates are saying that they

must be an LGBTQIA+ ally, specifically supporting equality and dignity for transgender persons
identify as pro-choice
must affirm that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election and that they accept the certified Pennsylvania’s election results

To date, Mike Lamb is the first and only candidate for County Chief Executive to respond to this Q&A. Others have requested, but not returned a completed Q&A yet. Make of that what you will.

My blog’s history with Mike Lamb goes back to the very earliest of days in the mid-2000’s. He showed up. He always answered my questions or has replied to my email. In May 2007, I predicted he might one day be County Chief Excecutive. Who knew? But as I scroll through my blog history, his name pops up repeatedly – showing up, answering questions, offering suggestions, listening. I assumed he would be part of the progressive white cishet politicians ushering in a better way to lead the city, region, and state. I don’t know why I made that assumption. As I read through his Q&A, I see the issues that are important to me – the Warden has to go, the ACE should show up at meetings, green fleets, affordable housing and this

I always knew that the main role of the county executive was to propel our region forward economically. But how I thought about economic development then and now is different from how most think of it. To me, to truly develop a region, we’ve got to invest in our people first and foremost.

Your Name: Michael Lamb

Your Pronouns: He/Him/His

The Office You Seek: Allegheny County Executive

How do you describe your identity?

I am a heterosexual cisgender man.

Tell us about your district. What is a hidden gem most people might not know about?

I’m running to represent all of Allegheny county, but I currently live on Mt. Washington and I get to see some of the best views of the city right when I wake up. There is also the Emerald View Trail, takes about an hour and half and is a great little hike!

I wouldn’t say that my familiarity has changed. I have always considered myself an ally and partner of the LGBTQ community. It has been a priority throughout my career in public service that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and have the same rights and privileges as everyone else.

How has redistricting impacted your district?

While redistricting hasn’t had a direct impact on the office I am seeking, it has and will affect the representatives and their respective districts that I will work with should I be elected. It also affects the democratic process. I will use the bully pulpit of the Executive office to fight for and defend fair maps.

Please tell us about the first out LGBTQ person you met? It is fine to use initials or pseudonyms.

The first out LGBTQ person I met was my cousin.

How has your familiarity with the LGBTQ community in your district and the region changed since you first took office?

Before I became an elected official, I helped people through the challenges of writing wills and succession as a lawyer. These cases often involved tricky family situations, notably for same-sex couples who were not allowed to legally marry at that time. Seeing families ripped apart because they lacked the same rights as heterosexual couples opened my eyes. i became a vocal proponent of same-sex marriage in the early 2000S, before same-sex marriage was enshrined into law. Since then, I wouldn’t say that my familiarity has changed. I have always considered myself an ally and partner of the LGBTQ community. It has been a priority throughout my career in public service that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and have the same rights and privileges as everyone else. Unfortunately progress made is never permanent and always fragile. Now more than ever, my friends in the LGBTQ community need support, especially from our elected officials.

Based on this, what do you understand to be our top LGBTQ concerns and priorities for Allegheny County? How will you respond to those priorities?
We have seen across the nation and even here that this community is under attack. The inequities that exist in our county around housing, health care & mental health disproportionately affect our LGBTQ youth. It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to protect one. We need a County Exec who will fight to protect and uplift LGBTQ lives. We also need to build a County government that is welcoming and inclusive as is representative of that community. We need to ensure the safety and health of our LGBTQ community because everyone deserves to have a place to call home and thrive there. As County Executive, I will work to ensure LGBTQ folks have access to mental health supports, healthcare, youth programming, and will work with and amplify community organizations who are already doing good work in these areas.

Please give an example of how intersectionality has informed your work.

Government, policy, and all politics, for that matter, are inherently intersectional. When I led the charge to change our form of government and create this very position 25 years ago, I always knew that the main role of the county executive was to propel our region forward economically. But how I thought about economic development then and now is different from how most think of it. To me, to truly develop a region, we’ve got to invest in our people first and foremost. It’s not about giving tax breaks to big businesses to incentivize them here, it’s about creating the kind of place where people want to live and businesses want to locate. That means investing in us. It means making higher education more accessible, making sure that everyone can find a safe place to live, working with our municipalities and the different communities across this county to grow and thrive. It means working with DHS to ensure that our people have access to the quality social service work they deserve to have. It’s about cleaning up our streets and roads and making sure our air is breathable and our water is drinkable. And it means starting to fix these issues where they have hit the hardest–in our marginalized communities.

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Please give an example of when a colleague in the Mayor’s Office or City Council has convinced you to change your mind on an issue. When I worked on city council in the late 80s, I worked with a man named John. He was my friend and my coworker. John was also HIV positive and eventually succumbed to AIDS. Seeing how he was treated in the office truly opened my eyes to the fact that we need to be more accepting and supportive of those living with HIV and AIDS, especially at that time.

How will you as County Chief Executive start addressing the myriad of issues that are the Allegheny County Jail? Who will be part of your advisors on these matters?

The warden needs to go, period. That will be my first priority. Second, I am committed to attending the JOB meetings. If we are going to truly address the issues plaguing our jail, the County Executive needs to be present at the meetings of the Board that oversees the jail.

From there we need to address staffing, which is a huge problem. We can build upon the good work done by the Controller’s Office, which has done two audits at the Jail, with a third audit of all systems. We need to bring in mental health professionals, jail advocates, nutritionists, and other programing. You can’t begin to fix issues unless all stakeholders and voices are at the table, including those who have been through the system themselves.

Allegheny County has been tepid on LGBTQ issues. Council passed a nondiscrimination ordinance but did not fund implementation. Domestic partner benefits were extended briefly to some employees, then rescinded. The Health Department Zoning laws around bathrooms necessary to create all gender toilets is outdated. ACJ is failing trans and gender nonconforming people. How will your administration lift up the concerns of the LGBTQ community? Do you have specific policies or programs in mind?

As I mentioned earlier, I think it’s about hearing what the communities needs, aside from an ally in the most powerful position in the region. I am committed to sitting down with LGBTQ+ organizations within the county to understand what are the greatest challenges facing them and to partner with them on those solutions. I would fully fund nondiscrimination ordinances and work to extend domestic partner benefit to employees. But what will really make a difference is County Human Relations Commission being staffed full-time with investigators dedicated to uncovering discrimination and who would be more responsive to complaints. We cannot find a solution to discrimination and a path to equity without shedding light on the injustice first.

Allegheny County includes approximately 110 municipalities. How will you work with all of them to serve their (and your) constituents and their 110+ governmental structures? This has been a driving mission of my campaign and something that I have spoken extensively about. Our fractional system of government holds us back. When I first became Controller, I had a meeting with a professor from Pitt and together, we created CONNECT—or the Congress of Neighboring Communities. For the first time, Pittsburgh and all the municipalities that touched it worked together to find solutions to the obstacles facing the urban core of our region. I would bring that model to our county government. I want to create an Office of Municipal Partnership that is focused on working with our municipalities every single day to address issues of public safety, public works, social supports, and economic development at the local level. We need to break down the barriers that exist between all of our municipal partners to deliver value added services that transcend boundaries.

Recently in regard to this race, Phil Ameris president of the Laborers District Council of Western Pennsylvania told PublicSource “I don’t think people in the South Hills are interested in affordable housing,” That quote is chilling in it’s disconnect from working families in the South Hills and its dismissal of affordable housing as some sort of trendy liberal elitist concern. What are your thoughts on affordable housing as a concern for the South Hills and throughout the county?

I have spoken to people across the county. No matter where you are, you hear a story about housing. People can look outside their windows and see blighted property in the South Hills and the Mon Valley. They see their neighbors pushed out of their homes in the north side of the city. They see senior housing units fall into disrepair and they see “affordable housing” communities disconnected from grocery stores, healthcare facilities, transportation, and the things that help communities thrive. Housing is the most basic of human needs and rights. If you don’t know where you’ll be sleeping that night, how are you supposed to get a job, take care of your health, or take care of your family? Affordable housing needs to be a priority for our next County Executive. I want to put the ability to own or rent a home back into the hands of the people. We have many tools at our disposal–whether it be through land banks, stronger code enforcement, or a tax claim bureau to expedite the process of reintegrating properties into communities, I will be tackling this problem on day one.

The warden needs to go, period. That will be my first priority. Second, I am committed to attending the JOB meetings. If we are going to truly address the issues plaguing our jail, the County Executive needs to be present at the meetings of the Board that oversees the jail.

In your platform about green issues, you mention that we need to be patient given how intricately reliance on fossil fuel is embedded in our society. What are some examples of how you would implement green resources into County Government to start freeing us from that reliance? I’m speaking policies for County Government itself (solar panels, green vehicles) not so much as Countywide policies.

We start by introducing green technology into the government like we’ve done at the Controller’s office – we were the first office to go with an electric vehicle fleet. We need to go electric in every office and install alternative energy in every county facility. The County Exec needs to set the tone for the future of the region.

How do competitive primary elections benefit the residents of a community?

Competition is healthy, especially in a democratic process. Not only do residents get to choose the person who best aligns with their values and beliefs about the world, but having competitive primary elections helps us as candidates share and build on each other’s ideas, be more responsive to resident voices, and forces us to hone our message and policy ideas.

What are three reasons people should vote for you/support your campaign?

I have a proven track record of bold progressive change, from my work in the Prothonotary’s office to my work as Controller, as a lawyer, and as a dedicated public servant.
I have already built tools for better government at the city level that I can bring to the County on day one.
I have a bold vision for our future and I know how to get it done. I will invest in us by making community college for every high school senior in the county. I will bring a new level of accountability and transparency to our government and I will build coordination and cooperation between our municipalities.

We start by introducing green technology into the government like we’ve done at the Controller’s office – we were the first office to go with an electric vehicle fleet. We need to go electric in every office and install alternative energy in every county facility.

Tell me about your other endorsements and supporters.

We have the endorsement of the painters DC 57 We have the support of a coalition of progressive Democrats, moderate democrats, unions, business men, social workers, people in the suburbs and in the city. What will put us over the edge in May is that we’ve been putting in the work and we have real grassroots support. We’ve had no outside help, whether that be from buying people’s support or PAC money. And we’ve been building real momentum.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

I have shown up to work like it was my first day, everyday. I humbly ask the residents of Allegheny County to allow me to continue to fight on their behalf.

Where can readers find your campaign on social media?

lambforcountyexec.com
instagram.com/michaellambpa
twitter.com/MichaelLambPA
facebook.com/MichaelLambPA

Thank you, Mike.

Other Q&A’s in this election cycle series. You can read previous cycle Q&A’s here.

Pgh Lesbian Correspondents