Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Darlene Harris on Wednesday sued the city, Mayor Bill Peduto and the Pittsburgh Ethics Hearing Board, contending the city illegally fined her for failing to file campaign finance reports with the ethics board during the spring primary.
The board in September fined Harris, 66, of Spring Hill $4,150, alleging she failed to comply with an ordinance requiring candidates for city offices to file financial disclosure reports with the board by the first business day in each of the three months prior to the election.
Harris contends the ordinance is unconstitutional and has refused to pay that fine and a second one the board levied for $1,000 in 2017 after her unsuccessful campaign for mayor. The lawsuit filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, which also names ethics board Executive Manager Leanne Davis, seeks to quash the fine and the ordinance.
Her attorney, Jim Burn, said Harris files campaign finance reports with the Allegheny County Elections Division as required by state law, and that the city’s ordinance is preempted by the state statute. It also violates a candidate’s rights to equal protection and due process, he said.
“We’re asking that they repeal the ordinance and we’re asking that they be enjoined from ever enacting an ordinance like that again,” Burn said.
Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto, declined comment, citing the pending litigation.
Harris, a Democrat, has represented the North Side’s District 1 since 2006 and lost her seat to Bobby Wilson in the Democratic primary. She could not immediately be reached for comment.
