A motion to remove Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena from his leadership position will be considered at the council’s next meeting after emotional public testimony condemning Catena’s anti-trans campaign rhetoric on Tuesday evening.
The move came near the end of a packed Allegheny County Council meeting during which 16 speakers, including LGBTQ leaders, Democratic organizers, healthcare professionals, parents of transgender children, and community activists, publicly denounced Catena over a campaign mailer widely criticized as transphobic.
County Councilman DeWitt Walton formally moved to trigger a vote on council leadership after the final public comments concluded.
“I’m moving that we call for a vote of council tonight for a new president of County Council,” Walton said from the council rostrum.
The County Council solicitor clarified that the matter would need to appear on the agenda at a future meeting, but confirmed that council leadership can be changed by majority vote.
Walton then urged Catena to resign immediately rather than force a formal removal vote.
“I suggest that President Catena resign tonight, right now,” Walton said.
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The anticipated vote in two weeks marks continued escalation in the political fallout surrounding Catena, whose campaign mailer in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania House District 45 invoked “transgender athletes,” “extreme left groups,” and “socialism” in attacks against opponent Brittany Bloam.
The mailer sparked widespread backlash across Allegheny County in recent days, including condemnation from the Steel City Stonewall Democrats, the Young Democrats of Allegheny County, Democratic elected officials, LGBTQ organizations, and local residents.
Tuesday’s meeting represented the largest and most direct public confrontation yet.
Several speakers directly referenced Catena’s recent attempt to donate $500 to TransYOUniting following backlash over the mailer, a donation the organization publicly rejected earlier this week.
Saint-Osei McClendon, speaking on behalf of TransYOUniting Executive Director Dena Stanley, criticized Catena for attempting what organizers described as performative accountability.
“Our community is not for sale,” McClendon told the council. “Accountability is not quietly sending money and hoping people move on.”
McClendon accused Catena of contributing to the targeting of one of the country’s “smallest and most vulnerable communities” for political gain and argued that leadership positions carry a responsibility to protect marginalized residents rather than scapegoat them.
ACT UP Pittsburgh members also repeatedly called for Catena’s resignation during the meeting.
“We do not accept your apology,” said one member. “We do not accept your money for our silence.”
The Young Democrats of Allegheny County formally announced during public comment that the organization had lost confidence in Catena’s leadership and called for his removal as council president.
Cory Roma, the group’s political director, condemned Catena for using “transphobic talking points” against an already vulnerable community.
“Targeting such an at-risk marginalized community for the purpose of attacking your political opponent is disgraceful,” Roma said.
Steel City Stonewall Democrats President Ian Price similarly criticized Catena for what he described as insufficient accountability and warned about the broader impact anti-trans rhetoric can have on both transgender youth and cisgender girls who fail to conform to traditional gender expectations.
Price also criticized Catena’s limited apology, noting that many residents who received the original mailer would likely never see the statement later provided quietly to select media outlets.
Some of the evening’s most emotional testimony came from parents of transgender children and healthcare professionals.
Heather Collins, a Ross Township resident and mother of a transgender child, directly connected anti-trans political rhetoric to violence experienced by transgender youth.
“My child, you want to talk about bullying,” Collins said. “When he was 12 … a pack of boys drove his collarbone about an inch and a half.”
Dr. Scott Tyson, a pediatrician who said he treated transgender children and families for decades, bluntly told Catena to resign.
“These kids are at terrible risk — suicide, being beaten up,” Tyson said. “This is unacceptable.”
Other speakers warned council members that failing to act would itself send a message to transgender residents and allies.
“Doing nothing is doing something,” resident Kathy Callahan told council. “If you take no action, your silence and inaction in this moment looks like you condone this.”
The meeting adjourned without further discussion from Catena himself. The council is expected to revisit leadership questions at its next regular meeting in two weeks on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.