Pittsburgh Council President Doug Shields declared a "constitutional crisis" in the city today, as council and the Law Department spar over Home Rule Charter rules governing board appointments. Council decided to hold an as-yet-unscheduled special meeting to try to untangle what has become a contentious issue inside of city government.

Precipitating the crisis are Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's appointments of Councilman Patrick Dowd to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Councilwoman Darlene Harris to the Stadium Authority. Mr. Dowd would join Councilman Dan Deasy on the water board, and Ms. Harris would add the stadium panel seat to her portfolio which already includes a Sports & Exhibition Authority board post.

The city charter requires that "a member of council" serve on every board, and that "no member of council may serve on more than one authority board at the same time." Mr. Shields asked the Law Department how Mr. Dowd's nomination to join Mr. Deasy squares with the rule calling for just "a member," and how the choice of Ms. Harris to serve on two boards can be reconciled with the one-board rule.

Assistant City Solicitor Jason Zollett wrote a legal opinion dated yesterday, and delivered to council this morning, finding that those rules are "not applicable," because state law governs authority boards. He found that other charter provisions, allowing the mayor to make all board appointments and remove board members at will, are valid.

Mr. Shields called that "faulty analysis from our Law Department."

"I think there's a lot of politics being played on both sides," said Mr. Dowd, who has sparred with both the mayor and Mr. Shields.