in Pittsburgh's 2008
St. Patrick's Day Parade. Onorato practiced as a private
attorney until he was elected to the
Pittsburgh City Council in 1991, when he defeated District 1 incumbent Bernard J. Regan in the primary election. He served two terms on the council before being elected Allegheny County Controller in 2000. In 2003, he defeated
Jim Roddey for the position of Allegheny County executive. He was named runner up for the 2003 Politician of the Year by the political website
PoliticsPA, who noted his youthful energy and his fundraising power.
Allegheny County drink tax controversy In late 2007
Allegheny County received permission from the
Pennsylvania General Assembly to pursue increased taxation of poured alcohol and rental cars to subsidize the
Port Authority of Allegheny County. Members of the Allegheny County Council and Onorato believed that such a tax was preferable to increasing county property taxes. After the 10% tax on poured alcohol passed, Allegheny County bar and restaurant owners protested the new tax, claiming that it would hurt that business. Courts threw out a lawsuit by bar and restaurant owners challenging the legality of the drink tax, but the litigants sought a referendum overturning the tax in the November 2008 general election. Onorato subsequently withheld the funds raised by the drink tax from the Port Authority, demanding that the transit agency first restructure its labor costs.
2008 presidential election He announced his endorsement of
Senator Hillary Clinton in her
2008 presidential bid on March 14, 2008, saying, "Hillary Clinton has the experience and the determination to clean up the mess in Washington and deliver results."
2010 gubernatorial campaign Onorato won the Democratic nomination in the
2010 election for
Governor of Pennsylvania on May 18, 2010. Onorato had more than $4 million for a campaign left over from his re-election bid. He also received media attention when the G-20 Summit was held in Pittsburgh. He defeated State Senator
Anthony Williams,
Auditor General Jack Wagner, and
Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel. He was defeated by Republican
State Attorney General Tom Corbett in the general election with 45.5% to 54.5% of the vote, and lost his home county. A large part of his loss resulted from his role in
US Airways leaving Pittsburgh for Charlotte, leading to a direct loss of 12,000 jobs in the Pittsburgh area, and an indirect loss estimate of 50,000 jobs. The County's taxation of passengers to pay down airport debt under Onorato's lead as County Executive left US Airways in a difficult competitive pricing disadvantage compared to other airlines and hubs. Onorato called US Airways CEO Doug Parker's 'bluff' to utilize a contractual agreement to cancel leases, and US Airways ultimately wound down hub operations at the airport.[https://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2014/01/28/loss-of-us-airways-facility-a-bitter-pill-for-pittsburgh/4969169/ ==See also==