Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus has just filed a civil lawsuit against the Allegheny County Council and Chief Executive Sara Innamorato in an attempt to block their efforts to impose a term limit on his office.
In April, County Council approved legislation that would allow voters to decide if all row offices and county council seats should be limited to three four-year terms.
Currently, the only county office under term limits is the Chief Executive. That office is limited to three four-year terms, or 12 years.
In the lawsuit filed in Common Pleas court Friday morning, Sheriff Kraus contends that Council and the Chief Executive overstepped their authority, in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Kraus contends the Constitution allows for a term of four years, but does not set a limit on the number of terms that may be served.
Kraus claims the only way to impose a term limit would be through a Constitutional Amendment.
“This section is violative of the Pennsylvania Constitution in that it alters the grounds and the qualifications of the office in which Kraus entered the office, which was without any term restrictions that would apply to that particular term of office,” Kraus said in the lawsuit.
Kraus declined further comment and said the lawsuit speaks for itself.
The county tells 11 Investigates they have no comment. We’ve also reached out for Innamorato for comment on this lawsuit.
Read the full lawsuit below:
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
