Former Allegheny County Commissioner Larry Dunn ended a four-year political exile Friday, leaving his Republican Party home of 40 years to become a Democrat and run under that party’s banner for county controller. Dunn said he’s leaving the GOP because he disagrees with Republican leadership over property reassessments, taxes and plans to eliminate county row offices. He called his former party “rich and elitist.” “My beliefs and values have not changed,” said Dunn, 60, of Squirrel Hill. “The Republican Party of Allegheny County has changed.” Dunn, who changed his party registration yesterday at the county Elections Division, joined three longtime Democrats already seeking the party nomination for controller. The primary is May 20. County GOP Chairman Richard Stampahar blamed Dunn’s defection on his 1999 defeat in the Republican primary for county chief executive. Dunn came in a distant second to Jim Roddey, who became the county’s first chief executive when he won a narrow victory over Coroner Cyril Wecht. Since then, Dunn has operated his own consulting firm, Larry Dunn Associates, on Ross Street. “Everything with Larry Dunn dates back to Jim Roddey. It’s personal,” said Stampahar, who showed up at Dunn’s news conference yesterday, but was asked to leave the event at Dunn’s office. “And it could be against me as chairman, since I backed Jim Roddey at the time.” Dunn denied being bitter. “This has nothing to do with Jim Roddey. I did this after seeing a Republican administration break their word to voters by raising both property taxes and taxes each year for the past three years,” he said. Dunn said the county should abandoned its computerized reassessment system, started in 2001, and return to having appraisers visit every property. He also believes that GOP support for a voter referendum on eliminating eight of 10 elected county row offices is wrong. “I think the treasurer (John Weinstein) and the sheriff (Pete DeFazio) have both spoken up for the taxpayer,” Dunn said. Roddey, who is running for re-election, said it’s “ironic that Larry Dunn is mentioning the reassessment, since he was the one that froze the assessments in the first place in 1996, which led to the lawsuit against the county that forced the subsequent reassessment.” Roddey also called Dunn “very bitter about his defeat.” “I understand his business isn’t doing very well,” Roddey said. “He must be trying to make one last hurrah.” Dunn was a county commissioner from 1989 until 1999. He was chairman until he was ousted in 1997 by the other Republican commissioner, Bob Cranmer, and Democratic Commissioner Mike Dawida. Cranmer declined to comment. Dawida was out of town and did not return a message left with his wife. During the 1999 GOP primary campaign for chief executive, Dunn was incensed by a Roddey slow-motion campaign commercial that showed Dunn appearing sleepy at a public event. Dunn’s entry into the controller’s race deals a wild card to county Democratic leaders, who already have three announced candidates. Incumbent Dan Onorato is seeking the Democratic nomination for county chief executive, leaving an opening for controller. Allegheny County Council President James Simms, 59, of Schenley Heights; Mark Patrick Flaherty, 40, a lawyer from Mt. Lebanon; and Pittsburgh Councilman James Motznik, 39, of Overbrook have announced for the $66,500-a-year controller’s post. The controller serves as the chief financial officer of the county. County Democratic Chairman Tom Flaherty said he welcomes Dunn as a Democrat, but also urged him to respect the choice of the county Democratic Committee. The group will meet Feb. 21 to endorse its candidates. “I hope he would bow out if he doesn’t get the endorsement,” Flaherty said. Dunn said will run in the primary regardless. “I’m one of the candidates here,” he said. “I don’t think of anyone as a spoiler.”

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