1999 Allegheny County Executive election

November 2, 1999


Nominee	Jim Roddey	Cyril Wecht
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	178,312	172,084
Percentage	50.89%	49.11%

County Executive before election

Position established

Elected County Executive

Jim Roddey
Republican

Federal government

U.S. President
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State government

Governor
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Attorney General
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Auditor General
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State Treasurer
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Philadelphia

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The 1999 Allegheny County Executive election was held on November 2, 1999. The election was the first one following the 1998 passage of Allegheny County's charter, which replaced the existing County Commission with an elected County Executive and a fifteen-member County Council.^[1]

Both parties had contested primaries for the position. In the Democratic primary, County Coroner Cyril Wecht defeated County Commissioner Michael Dawida by a wide margin, winning the nomination with 57 percent of the vote. Businessman and civic activist Jim Roddey defeated County Commissioner Larry Dunn in a landslide, winning 68–32 percent. In the general election, Roddey narrowly defeated Wecht, 51–49 percent, becoming the first person to be elected County Executive, and, as of 2023, the only Republican to ever be elected to the position.^[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Cyril Wecht, County Coroner^[3]
Michael Dawida, County Commissioner^[4]

Primary results

Democratic primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cyril Wecht	99,424	56.57%
	Democratic	Michael Dawida	76,344	43.43%
Total votes			175,768	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Jim Roddey, businessman and civic activist^[6]
Larry Dunn, County Commissioner^[7]

Primary results

Republican primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Roddey	49,361	68.03%
	Republican	Larry Dunn	23,192	31.97%
Total votes			72,553	100.00%

General election

Results

1999 Allegheny County Executive election^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Roddey	178,312	50.89%
	Democratic	Cyril Wecht	172,084	49.11%
Total votes			350,396	100.00%
	Republican win (new seat)

References

^ O'Toole, James (May 20, 1998). "Home rule slips in: Voters endorse county charter's big changes by tiny margin". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. A1. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
^ Wereschagin, Mike; Bohnel, Steve; Lauer, Hallie (March 7, 2024). "Jim Roddey, the first Allegheny County executive and a staple of Pittsburgh-area politics, dies at 91". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
^ O'Toole, James (November 19, 1998). "Wecht starts county executive run on energetic note". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. C1. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
^ "Dawida running for county exec". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. January 9, 1999. p. C4. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "Official Election Results - 05/18/99 - Primary". Allegheny County Elections Division. Archived from the original on June 30, 2004. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
^ O'Toole, James (January 15, 1999). "Roddey makes county exec bid official". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. B1. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
^ O'Toole, James (January 17, 1999). "Dunn rocks into race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. B1. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
^ "Official Election Results - 11/02/99 - General". Allegheny County Elections Division. Archived from the original on June 27, 2004. Retrieved July 7, 2025.

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