Biography

 2008 Inaugural Address

Dan Onorato is a life-long resident of Allegheny County. He grew up on Pittsburgh’s North Side and attended North Catholic High School. In 1983, Onorato graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Onorato worked for several years as a Certified Public Accountant before continuing his education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he earned a juris doctorate in 1989. Onorato practiced as a private attorney until 1991, when he decided to leave the private sector and enter public service.

Onorato was elected to Pittsburgh City Council in 1991 and re-elected in 1995. In 1999, he successfully ran for Allegheny County Controller and spent four years being a watchdog against wasteful spending and fraud. In 2003, Onorato launched a successful campaign for the Office of County Executive, and he was overwhelmingly re-elected to that office in 2007.

Onorato has brought a fresh approach to Allegheny County government. His background as a CPA and attorney give him the strong management skills and fiscal discipline with which he effectively governs Pennsylvania’s second largest county.

Upon taking office, Onorato immediately began reducing expenditures and streamlining County government. He has reduced the County’s payroll by 626 positions, which saves taxpayers more than $31 million annually. Onorato was also the primary advocate of Row Office reform, which has reduced the size and cost of County government by abolishing six elected offices.

In keeping with his commitment to fiscal responsibility and smaller government, Onorato has embraced opportunities to consolidate services and eliminate duplicate functions between Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh and other municipalities. He also successfully fought for a fundamental change to the County’s property assessment system, which prevents dramatic swings in property values and eliminates backdoor property tax increases. Onorato has held the line on property taxes in every budget since becoming County Executive.

Onorato focuses on three areas that are critical to Allegheny County’s future success: economic development at and around Pittsburgh International Airport; the reclamation and redevelopment of thousands of acres of brownfields and old industrial sites; and the creation and expansion of high-tech businesses and jobs resulting from university research and development. Onorato is also focusing public and private efforts to address 20 years of deferred maintenance at the County’s nine parks, which encompass more than 12,000 acres.

Since taking office in 2004, Onorato has secured more than $1.2 billion in state support for a wide range of economic development, capital construction and regional transportation projects that span the County.

While presenting the County Executive with a check for $2.8 million for 19 recreation and conservation projects throughout Allegheny County, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Conservation & Natural Resources called Onorato “the smartest and hardest working county executive in Pennsylvania.”

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said “Dan Onorato is an incredibly effective executive, and he’s a rising star.”

Onorato and his wife, Shelly, reside in the Brighton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh with their children Kate, Emily and Danny.