Lost and found: Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene Harris' missing creche reappears

A creche belonging to Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Darlene Harris that had been missing since November reappeared Wednesday in a conference room shared by council offices.

The Spring Hill Democrat said her staff searched the conference room shortly after her late grandmother's Nativity set went missing from beneath a Christmas tree in a public foyer leading to council offices.

Two staffers from the council clerk's office found it in the conference room Wednesday afternoon, she said.

“It wasn't there before,” Harris said Thursday. “It's pretty sad for a council member to stoop that low and play kid games with something that doesn't belong to you.”

Harris is blaming council President Bruce Kraus for taking the creche. Kraus of South Side declined comment. Harris said Kraus instructed council Clerk Brenda Pree to remove the creche from the tree several days prior to its disappearance. “The only one that had anything to do with this was Kraus,” Harris said.

Harris and Kraus are political adversaries who have often argued during council meetings and attacked each other verbally. Kraus in 2014 fined Harris $20 for “disruptive behavior” after he accused her of tossing a meeting gavel at him.

Harris early this month was a lone “no” vote against Kraus in an election that made him council president for two years.

“Now you know why,” Harris said.

The missing creche generated plenty of local media attention and a mention by a national columnist, who called it a symbol of the “war on Christmas.”

Harris said she's been displaying it under the Christmas tree for 11 years, and “nobody ever had a problem with it.”

Pennsylvania ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak has said it would likely be viewed in court as violation of a First Amendment provision known as the establishment clause, effectively separating church and state.

That won't stop Harris from displaying it next year.

“Anyone can have any holiday (decoration) under the tree,” she said. “We shouldn't discriminate against anyone's holiday. That's what we never did here.”

Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or on Twitter @bobbauder.