Rich Fitzgerald
Rich Fitzgerald (born May 8, 1959) is an American elected official who serves as the 3rd County Executive of Allegheny County. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of Allegheny County Council from 2000 until 2011 as the District 11 representative. Education/Early Career. The oldest son of Dick and Pat (née Mangold) Fitzgerald, Rich was born at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood. He attended St. Lawrence O'Toole grade school and Central Catholic High School. After high school graduation, Fitzgerald attended Carnegie Mellon University. During college, he paid his tuition  by driving a cab for Yellow Cab Company as a member of Teamsters Local 258. He graduated in 1981 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a business minor. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon, Fitzgerald was unable to find a job in engineering in the region and so moved to Rockford, Illinois to take a job with NALCO Chemical Company as a water treatment chemical sales associate. In the fall of 1982, Fitzgerald returned to Pittsburgh and started a small business which provided water treatment equipment and services for industry in the western Pennsylvania region. Political career. Allegheny County Council . Fitzgerald became the first County Council member for District 11 in January 2000 and held the seat through 2011. From 2004-2011 (eight consecutive terms), he served as the President of Council, elected to the position by his colleagues. During his time on County Council, further row office reform was passed which resulted in the electorate eliminating and consolidating a number of offices and saving taxpayer dollars. Additional legislative initiatives included a Homestead Exemption for property owners and the creation of a Human Relations Commission. In 2011, Fitzgerald resigned from County Council to run for the office of County Executive  (a provision of the Home Rule Charter provides that a person may not run for County Executive while serving as a member of County Council). Allegheny County Executive. Fitzgerald was sworn into office as County Executive on January 3, 2012. He was re–elected in November 2015 from an unopposed canvas. Rich Fitzgerald is in his third and final term as County Executive. During his three term tenure as County Executive, he touts addressing the challenges and opportunities we face in the 21st century. Under his leadership, the Allegheny County has received the best credit rating in 35 years or  since 1983 by recognising quality of life making Allegheny County attractive to many for their diverse economy in artificial intelligence, clean energy, cultural arts, education, finance, health care, and manufacturing. Accomplishments. Rich Fitzgerald has established a record as a leader who brings people together to solve problems and get things done. He has prioritized communities to support Allegheny County as a whole while maintaining balanced budgets and holding the line on property taxes to live, work, and prepare children from financially struggling families for Sustainable Lifestyles. Personal life. Rich is married to his college sweetheart–pharmacist Cathy Tomasovich. They reside  in Squirrel Hill and had eight children that attended Penn State University. He has been noted for his resemblance to the actor Jeff Daniels.