Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald at a press conference promoting a measure that would allow Wilkinsburg voters to vote on being annexed by Pittsburgh. (Photo by Charlie Wolfson/PublicSource)
by Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource
A Wilkinsburg group pushing to have the borough annexed by Pittsburgh passed a key test Wednesday when an Allegheny County judge ruled that their petition is valid and sent the matter to Pittsburgh City Council for consideration. Now council must vote within three months on whether to advance the annexation process to its final phase — a referendum question among Wilkinsburg voters.
It’s a major milestone for the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation [WCDC], the group that has been openly promoting the idea of joining the city. To get approval from Common Pleas Judge Joseph James on Wednesday, they needed signatures from 5% of Wilkinsburg registered voters. They presented about 10%, more than 1,200.
An objection was filed by Wilkinsburg resident Kate Luxemburg, who wrote to the court that the petition contained 227 invalid signatures and that some of the signature gatherers were paid and some lived outside Wilkinsburg. Judge James overruled her objections, saying it’s legal to collect signatures that way. County elections manager David Voye said he personally reviewed the petition and did not strike any signatures.
Earlier Wednesday, a handful of annexation proponents were joined by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald at a Downtown rally entitled ‘Let Wilkinsburg Vote,’ urging city council to send the matter to Wilkinsburg’s voters to decide whether they will remain a borough or join the city.
“I want to ask people to allow the people’s voice to speak,” Fitzgerald said, without naming city council specifically. He said annexation is the way for Wilkinsburg to attract businesses and reverse its population decline.
Several city council members late last year expressed deep hesitance toward moving this process forward, saying they need much more information first and that they are uncomfortable with the process that does not directly include Wilkinsburg elected officials or Pittsburgh voters.
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