Allegheny County Council and the Allegheny County Board of Health have allied on the side of smoke-free workplaces. They want an ordinance freeing virtually all work settings in the county from cigarette smoke.

On the other side, the axis of smoke-free saboteurs, is the triumvirate of County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, County Manager Jim Flynn and Solicitor Michael Wojcik.

Mr. Onorato has said he wants the Legislature to impose a statewide ban. His right-hand man, Mr. Flynn, who also sits on the county Board of Health, voted against its resolution to seek a county ban. And Mr. Onorato's loyal barrister, Mr. Wojcik, issued an opinion saying state law forbids the county from setting its own rule.

Mr. Wojcik's opinion is a matter of dispute that a non-profit group seeking a county ban has taken to court for a judge to decide. Mr. Flynn was outvoted by health board members backing a county ban. And Mr. Onorato's position just makes no sense.

If the county executive is for a statewide ban, he must believe the U.S. surgeon general's report, which says that secondhand smoke kills, even a small exposure can be dangerous and no filter successfully eliminates it. If he's for a statewide ban, he must believe the state's children should be protected from secondhand smoke when they're munching fries at fast-food restaurants and the state's bartenders should be protected when they're setting up shots and beers.

But Mr. Onorato is resisting the call to act to protect his own -- his own constituent children and workers. He wants the Legislature to do it, but the Legislature has clearly shown it intends to give nothing but lip service to smoking bans.

Allegheny County's nonsmokers shouldn't be exposed to this toxin just because the Legislature won't act. Allegheny County's nonsmokers shouldn't be exposed just because their counterparts in Westmoreland and Lawrence and Bucks counties won't be spared.

Step up, Mr. Onorato. Be a leader. Protect those you can. Snuff out those workplace smokes in your home county.