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Residents press council on poll-worker treatment, public defender office HVAC and LGBTQ protections during public comment
Summary
At the June 9 meeting residents testified about a poll-worker dispute and inaccurate pay-sheet notation, called on council to fix a long-standing air-conditioning problem at the public defender's office and urged stronger protections for transgender residents and accountability for a council member.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the June 9 Allegheny County Council meeting to raise operational and policy concerns from across the county.
Leslie Perchett described arriving with her son for poll-worker duty at Torrentum Ward 1 and being told by the precinct judge, Cynthia Kramer, that they could not work because they were "late." Perchett said she contacted the county election office, which told her they should remain and a county representative later confirmed that they were to remain on duty. Perchett said she experienced a "hostile and dismissive attitude" during the day and objected to a handwritten note on the pay sheet next to her name stating she was "late and gone most of the day." She asked council to review the handling of the assignment and the pay-sheet notation to ensure poll workers are treated consistently and professionally.
Kevin Horn, a public defender who said he has worked in the Allegheny County public defender's office for seven years, told council that the air conditioning in renovated office space "has never worked." He said his office has logged complaints since 2022 and that temperatures have reached "almost 87 degrees" on recent days and averaged about 84°F over two weeks, creating unbearable working conditions for roughly 30 affected staff. Horn asked council to press administration for a firm schedule and confirmation that the system will be replaced rather than subjected to repeated diagnostics.
Members of ACT UP Pittsburgh, represented by Samantha Fitzgerald and Jillian Ratliff, urged the council to take concrete actions to protect transgender residents and pressed for accountability for a named council member. Fitzgerald also called for the release of an autopsy in a recent death she described as involving a Haitian immigrant and criticized federal and institutional responses; Ratliff repeated the request for meetings with advocates and clear timelines and accountability from council members.
Other public commenters included Katherine (Katie) Dicki, who spoke about the financial pressures on social workers and urged continued work on paid parental leave and housing-affordability issues, and Bethany Cameron of InformUp.org, who summarized a reader survey about qualities residents want in a council president and views on contract-approval thresholds.
Council members did not announce immediate administrative remedies during the public-comment period; these subjects were entered into the record for follow-up by the appropriate county departments and officials.
