Pa. court rules against former Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene Harris in campaign finance case

A state appellate court ruled Tuesday that former Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Darlene Harris must pay fines levied against her for failing to file financial disclosure reports during her campaign in 2019.

In a 20-page opinion, the Commonwealth Court found that the $4,150 fine levied against Harris was not excessive and was properly authorized.

Jim Burn, the attorney who represented Harris, said they are strongly considering filing an appeal — either to a panel of the Commonwealth Court or to the state Supreme Court.

“We believe our facts warrant a serious review of the constitutionality of the city’s ordinance,” he said. “At this point, we don’t think this conversation is over.”

The ordinance, enacted by the city in 2015, requires candidates for office to provide a campaign finance report on the first business day of each of three months leading up to election day.

Harris, who was first elected in 2006, was notified in February 2019 that she would be required to submit such reports for the 2019 primary, but she refused to comply. Instead, Harris challenged the law, saying it was unconstitutional and preempted by state campaign finance laws. She filed a suit against the city, Mayor Bill Peduto and the Ethics Hearing Board.

At a hearing on the issue on May 23, 2019, a hearing officer ruled against Harris. Four months later, the ethics board issued a fine of $50 per day for each day she hadn’t filed a report, totaling $4,150.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Joseph James upheld the decision, finding that the city’s home rule charter provides broad powers, including those to regulate campaign finances.

Harris appealed to the Commonwealth Court, which said that the city’s ordinance is not in conflict with state campaign finance laws.

“(T)he Pennsylvania Constitution and the Home Rule Law gave the city broad powers to legislate,” the court wrote. “In the Election Code, the legislature did not express the intention to assume exclusive jurisdiction over the field of campaign finance of candidates for municipal office.”