Losing his home county on election night could be the latest symptom of Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato's drink tax hangover, his critics say.
"You would have to think that some of it is related to the drink tax," said Kevin Joyce, owner of the Carlton Restaurant, Downtown, and a fierce opponent of the tax. "There's still angst out there about the drink tax, not just in the hospitality industry but among a lot of folks."
The 3-year-old levy on alcohol beverages to raise money for the Port Authority wasn't the only factor that spoiled a win for Democrat Onorato in Allegheny County, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-to-1 and U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat, won 55 percent of the vote despite losing his U.S. Senate bid to Republican Pat Toomey.
Onorato of Brighton Heights lost the county to Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett of Shaler by 649 votes, according to preliminary returns, which showed 423,581 votes cast in the race.
"There's a variety of factors in that, but one is the anti-Democrat sentiment that is going around the state and the nation," said state Democratic Committee Chairman Jim Burn, a county councilman from Millvale.
That explanation would make sense if Sestak had lost Allegheny County, but he won decisively with a 40,300-vote advantage, said Jim Roddey, chairman of the county's Republican Committee.
"I think it's a bad signal for Dan," said Roddey, Onorato's predecessor. "He has to have Allegheny County as his base."
Onorato's relationship with outgoing Gov. Ed Rendell probably did not curry favor with voters, Burn said. Rendell loaned Onorato's campaign $250,000 and donated at least $75,000.
"Rendell is not popular. That didn't help him," Burn said.
Onorato was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
He wasn't willing to discuss many factors in his loss after delivering his concession speech Tuesday, but said it had nothing to do with Rendell's low approval ratings in recent polls.
"I'm not going to relive the campaign now," he told reporters. "The race is over. I'm going to move on."
Onorato's second term ends at the end of 2011, and he has not indicated what he might do. Allegheny County's home rule charter limits the executive to three consecutive terms.
"I'm thinking about catching up with my family. That's the only thing on my radar screen," Onorato said Tuesday.
Democrats running for statewide office must win big in Pennsylvania's metropolitan areas -- primarily Pittsburgh and Philadelphia -- to overcome the typically conservative Republican voters who dominate the state's midsection, said Nick Bonesso, a political consultant who worked for Onorato's campaign.
"The thought was that we would win Allegheny County just because of the city of Pittsburgh," Bonesso said.
Democrats outnumber Republicans in Pittsburgh by 5-to-1. Onorato won the city but lost in the county suburbs.
In Philadelphia, where he won 83 percent of the vote, turnout was 40 percent, not high enough to make up for losing Allegheny County, where turnout was 47 percent, according to unofficial returns.
Onorato said he plans to spend the next year working to create jobs to lower the county's unemployment rate and increase its population.
As for another attempt at winning statewide office, some speculate Onorato is mulling whether to run for auditor general. Incumbent Jack Wagner's term expires in 2012. Term limits prevent Wagner, a Beechview Democrat, from running again.
Several Democrats expressed interest in becoming county executive if Onorato leaves office. They include Burn, City Controller Michael Lamb and County Council President Rich Fitzgerald, D-Squirrel Hill.
Onorato remains the top local Democrat, Fitzgerald said. He doubts anyone from either party could successfully challenge him for his post.
"Dan's record as county executive is stellar," Fitzgerald said. "He would be very, very difficult for anyone to beat."
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Election Day 2010
Election day scenes from polling places around the Pittsburgh area, Tuesday, November 2, 2010.
