PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Council President Patrick Catena is facing criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates over a campaign mailer as he runs for a state House seat.
The mailer seems to target his sole opponent in the race, Brittany Bloom, and stated she was supported by “an extreme left group that advocates for transgender athletes in our sports.”
During Tuesday’s county council meeting, advocates held signs and directly addressed Catena, demanding he step down as council president.
“My advice is to resign from county council and then meet with trans people,” one speaker said.
More than a dozen people spoke during public comment, expressing what they described as a loss of confidence in Catena’s leadership and arguing the language in the mailer targeted a marginalized community.
“Pat, the mailing represents deep disrespect for the LGBTQ+ community,” another speaker said.
Others called for Catena to resign immediately.
Following the meeting’s adjournment, Catena spoke with Channel 11 in an impromptu interview.
He acknowledged approving the mailer and apologized for its language.
“It came from my campaign, and I have said I was sorry for it,” Catena said when asked if he regretted the wording.
Catena said he plans to remain in the race for state House and will not step down from his county council leadership role at this time.
He also said he needs to do “some soul searching.”
While addressing the controversy, Catena clarified his stance on transgender athletes, saying discussions about inclusion should continue.
“I’ve said we always need to include people. We need to be as inclusive as possible, but we need to have honest discussions,” he said.
Catena agreed to meet with advocates soon to further discuss their concerns.
Councilperson DeWitt Walton called for a vote for a new president and demanded that Catena resign during the meeting.
The county solicitor said any effort to vote on new leadership for the county council would need to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting in two weeks.
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