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Wednesday, April 16, 2003

By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Blacks and women continue to be seriously under-represented in elected offices at all levels of government in the Pittsburgh region, according to a new study.

The study of racial and gender diversity in the six-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area -- Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties -- shows that blacks and women "are not well represented" in Congress, the state Legislature, mayor's offices, municipal councils and school boards.

The report, to be released today at a Downtown news conference, was commissioned by Sustainable Pittsburgh, a 3-year-old public policy group that focuses on economic, ecological and social equity issues.

Among the major findings:

In the six-member congressional delegation from this area, there are no blacks and one woman (U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart), even though women make up 52 percent of the six-county population and blacks make up 8 percent, according to the 2000 Census.

Among the region's 43 state House members in Harrisburg, only two (or 5 percent) are black, and none of the state senators from the region is black.

Of the 99 city and borough mayors included in the survey, none is black. (The study appears to have overlooked at least one African-American mayor, Wilbert Young of Wilkinsburg.)

The representation of women as mayors is 17 percent -- "significantly lower" than the percentage of women in the region's population.

Blacks hold less than 1 percent of the municipal council presidencies in the region while women hold 11 percent (19 out of 167).

Blacks make up 2.5 percent of council members in the region and women 17.8 percent (203 of the 1,138 seats).

Blacks make up 4.1 percent of the school board members in the region.

"African-Americans and women are needed in decision-making positions in order for their interests to be adequately and accurately addressed," the report states. "Minorities become alienated from the political system and show less respect for laws enacted without their direct input by legislative bodies they view as illegitimate."

The report was done by Ralph L. Bangs and Monique Constance-Huggins of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research.

Funding for the $12,800 study came from the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Executive Women's Council, a 28-year-old group that supports women in leadership positions in Pittsburgh.

Statistics on diversity among elected officials were gathered from June to November 2002 using questions via telephone and fax and searches on the World Wide Web, the report states.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Sala Udin, who is black, said he hadn't seen the new report but its results didn't surprise him.

"It's well-known and previously documented that minorities and women are underrepresented in both elected and appointed political offices," he said.

The new finding should "compel both parties, Democrat and Republican, to give more than just lip service to minority and women's participation," he said.

He said he was encouraged by recent Democratic Party endorsements of some black and female candidates, including Twanda Carlisle for Pittsburgh City Council, William Robinson for Allegheny County Council and Valerie McDonald Roberts for Allegheny County recorder of deeds.

But he said communities in the Pittsburgh region "have to do more to recruit, train and support [black and female] candidates for public office."

The study rated 10 towns and one county -- Allegheny -- as having a "fair" number of blacks on their councils, meaning the percentage of blacks is greater than or equal to the percentage of blacks in the population.

In this category were Brackenridge, Coraopolis, Homestead, Leetsdale and McKeesport in Allegheny County; Beaver Falls in Beaver County; Finleyville and the city of Washington, Pa.; and Scottdale and North Belle Vernon in Westmoreland County.

Seven towns were rated "fair" for female representation on their councils: Aleppo, East McKeesport, Frazer and Whitaker in Allegheny County; Finleyville and Marianna in Washington County; and Delmont in Westmoreland County.

School boards with "fair" racial diversity were Cornell, Gateway, East Allegheny, Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg in Allegheny; Big Beaver Falls, Midland and Rochester in Beaver; and New Kensington-Arnold in Westmoreland.

Those with "fair" representation of women were Penn Hills, Chartiers Valley, East Allegheny, Wilkinsburg, Avonworth, Highlands, North Hills, Plum, Quaker Valley and South Fayette in Allegheny; Blackhawk and Riverside in Beaver; Trinity Area in Washington; and Franklin Regional and Monessen in Westmoreland.

The survey discussed some potential reasons for the dearth of blacks and women in elected positions.

In many cases, there simply aren't many black or women candidates who bother to run for political office, so voters have a limited choice.

Another reason is that minorities and women often have a difficult time raising adequate campaign funds.

Another factor is the power of incumbency. Political incumbents tend to be white males who "can employ large staffs and secure huge financing necessary to promote their re-election," the report said.

The report listed some steps that can be taken to encourage more women and blacks to run for elected office.

Local organizations should "create and maintain a directory of minorities and women qualified for and interested in staff positions with elected officials," because working in a staff job can increase a person's knowledge of an office and get him or her enthused about becoming a candidate.

The report also said local and state political parties should be urged to appoint blacks and women to ward leadership jobs and as members of political party committees.

Some organizations have set up programs to encourage minorities and women to run for office, like the Program for Emerging Leaders in Public Affairs, developed by the CORO Center for Civic Leadership in Pittsburgh, and the Institute for Public Leadership, co-sponsored by the YWCA and Chatham College.