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Incumbent Barbara
Daly Danko, 61, died of cancer on May 6 but remained on
Tuesday's ballot for the party's nomination for a seat on the
Allegheny County Council.
She defeated her opponent, Caroline Mitchell, 5,575 to 4,015.
There were no Republican candidates vying for the seat, one of
15 representing Pittsburgh and the surrounding suburbs.
Mitchell, a retired chemical engineer and lawyer could not be
reached for comment.
"It was a sympathy vote for Daly Danko," said Nancy Mills, chair
of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, which endorsed
Daly Danko.
The incumbent was an outspoken opponent of hydraulic fracturing,
or fracking, in county parks. Backers of the controversial
technique for extracting oil and gas recently won a legislative
battle to allow the practice. Environmentalists say fracking can
contaminate ground water and trigger earthquakes.
"Clearly she was well-respected by her constituents, which is
pretty much as good as it gets for an elected official," said
Jared Barker, the county council's chief clerk and director of
legislative services.
The county council is expected to appoint someone in the next
month to fill Daly Danko's seat until November, Barker said. At
that time, voters will pick someone to fill the remainder of her
term, which ends in January.
By Aug. 15, Democratic officials in Daly Danko's district will
select a replacement to appear on the November ballot, Mills
said.
Pittsburgh, the second-largest city in Pennsylvania with a
population of about 305,000, is the seat of Allegheny County.
(Reporting By Frank McGurty; Editing by Alan Crosby)
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