Allegheny County Council voted 11-1 Tuesday to select Pittsburgh attorney Paul Zavarella to fill the vacant District 8 seat.

“I thank county council for showing confidence in me,” Zavarella said by phone Wednesday, adding that he’s looking forward to working with council and other county officials.

Councilman DeWitt Walton, of District 10, cast the only dissenting vote.

“In last night’s interview of all the candidates, I put forth a litmus test that if they could not support the independent review board, they could not generate my support,” Walton said of interviews with candidates, held earlier this week. “Mr. Zavarella has not generated my support. I vote no.”

Council members interviewed 12 candidates for the position Monday. Whether the candidate would support an independent, countywide police review board was one of several topics that came up during interviews.

“When I went for the interview, I hadn’t even read it,” Zavarella said of the proposed police review board. “And I was hesitant to comment on the proposed bill-slash-ordinance without having read it. And I wanted to read it, and I read it, and I think that in other jurisdictions, they’re a very valuable tool. But I just need some more time to consider it.”

Councilman Nicholas Futules, of District 7, abstained from the vote, stating that Zavarella is a lawyer at a law firm that represents him.

Councilman Paul Klein was absent.

District 8 spans 17 municipalities, including Wilkinsburg, Plum, Monroeville and much of the Mon Valley, from Rankin and East McKeesport to Trafford and Pitcairn.

Zavarella is a lifelong Plum resident. An associate at Bruce Dice & Associates, he practices criminal defense law and municipal law as well as wills and estates.

He’s looking forward to getting out into the municipalities he now represents “so that I can learn from the municipalities what their concerns and issues are,” he said. “I’m certainly looking forward to promoting and looking to advance some of the economic development that’s going on.”

His father served as an Allegheny County judge from the early 1970s until his death in 2002, Zavarella said.

The District 8 seat was vacant after the death of Charles Martoni, who served on council for nearly 20 years.

Zavarella must win in the general election in November to keep the seat.

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