Write-in Republican challenging Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner

Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner’s campaign has 65 times more money on hand than her Republican write-in challenger, Brooke Nadonley.

Nadonley, 43, a home health care worker who lives in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood, had less than $600 in cash to the Wagner’s nearly $42,000 as of mid-October, records show.

“I wanted to do everything myself, too. I have marketing experience. I have advertising experience. I have a little bit of political experience with the recruiting and learning from others in my party,” Nadonley said. “But there’s so much that you need to know to run a campaign. … You just would never know how much of a challenge it is until you do it. So it’s given me new respect for all elected officials.”

Nadonley, a former insurance broker and media sales rep, said she wanted to make sure there was a Republican candidate to compete against Wagner in Tuesday’s election.

Wagner, 42, a former state House representative who grew up in Beechview, graduated from Seton LaSalle Catholic High School in Mt. Lebanon and now lives in Pittsburgh’s North Point Breeze neighborhood, is seeking reelection to her third term.

Wagner said she’s eager to build off the work she’s begun in trying to ensure the Controller’s Office serves as “a strong, independent, checks and balances on county government,” from flagging high lead levels in the water to scrutinizing tax breaks for nonprofit behemoths such as UPMC.

Among areas she wants to examine more closely: how to reduce costs and improve efficiency within the Allegheny County Jail and the county’s human services department, which accounts for nearly half the annual budget. She also wants to take a deep dive into the county’s largest contracts with third-party vendors.

“Where money is really hidden is in the contracts,” Wagner said.

Wagner said she’s among few county officials or local Democratic power players that has adamantly opposed the city’s proposed property tax hike to fund parks, and that she generally opposes new taxation.

Nadonley said she actually used to be a supporter of Wagner’s. Just a few years ago, she planted a Wagner campaign sign in her front yard.

She decided to run against Wagner when no other Republican stepped up to do so following felony charges filed against Wagner and her husband, Khari Mosley, stemming from a March 6 confrontation with police at a Detroit hotel.

Wagner is facing a felony charge of resisting and obstructing the police and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct after the fracas. Her trial is set to start Nov. 12, a week after Election Day. A jury found Wagner’s husband, Khari Mosley, not guilty on charges related to the same incident following a three-day trial in July.

The couple contends there has been a “coordinated effort” by police and hotel officials to smear their reputations and assassinate their characters.

Among Nadonley’s top priorities: protecting seniors from fraud, opposing new taxation, ensuring better coordination and planning of construction projects countywide and improving public safety.

In January, Nadonley attempted to impeach Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto over the city’s proposed gun ban. She lauded this week’s decision by an Allegheny County judge to strike down a package of gun-related legislation passed following last year’s mass shooting that claimed 11 lives at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

“Our Second Amendment rights have become critical to us because we know that there’s a staffing issue with police,” she said.

Nadonley already is pondering running for a city office in the near future.