Former Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Darlene Harris, a proud North Sider and colorful character who zealously advocated for children, animals and labor unions during a long career in public service, has died.
Her former council colleague Theresa Kail-Smith said Harris died Friday from cardiac arrest. She was 73.
Current and former city leaders praised how she unflinchingly stood up for her constituents.
“Darlene led a life of service to her community as an advocate, school board director and City Council member that spanned over 40 years,” Mayor Corey O’Connor said in a statement. “Born in Brighton Heights and growing up in Spring Hill, she was a North Sider through and through.”
During a 13-year tenure on council, Harris served as the body’s president during a pension bailout crisis that was resolved just before the state deadline on New Year’s Eve 2010. Pittsburgh was facing a state takeover of its underfunded pension.
Kail-Smith, who served alongside Harris on council, lauded her former colleague for her work to save the pension. She pointed out that Harris retired while a pension offset that kept workers from receiving their full pension pay was still in effect.
“She never reaped the full benefit of that,” Kail-Smith said.
A Democrat, Harris lost her final reelection for council in 2019 to Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side.
Wilson on Friday said he continues to aspire to follow in Harris’ footsteps when it comes to being attentive to the community.
“The one thing I always took from the councilwoman was how present she was with the community, whether in person at the community meetings and on the phone with constituents,” Wilson said, adding that Harris spoke openly and plainly, never shying away from sharing her opinions publicly.
Frenemies
Hardly a shrinking violet, Harris once faced a $20 fine for disruptive behavior after grabbing a gavel, repeatedly banging it and throwing at then-Council President Bruce Kraus.
“Did we have our disagreements? Oh, God, we had our disagreements. And were they loud and boisterous at times? Oh, yes, they were,” Kraus said Friday. “But I truly believe we focused more on the commonalities, the similarities, than the differences.”
Kraus and Harris, both animal lovers, partnered to help cats and dogs get adopted from local shelters.
Kraus spoke highly of Harris’ work to revamp the city’s animal control team, recalled how well she understood the city’s budget and credited her for seeking out ways council could better daily life for Pittsburghers with recreation center improvements and ball field upgrades.
“What Darlene believed in, she fought for,” Kraus said. “Whether we agreed or disagreed on what she championed at times, I have a great deal of respect for her for fighting so hard for what she did believe in.”
She was forced to pay a $4,150 fine in 2019 — which a judge upheld a couple of years later — for refusing to file financial disclosures.
When Harris left office, she did so amid allegations she was stealing items given to the city by foreign visitors.
Kail-Smith — who had been personal friends with Harris before and after their tenure on council together — said her former colleague was taking care of her ailing mother while serving as council president.
“She was on the phone at 11 at night while she’s putting her mother to bed,” Kail-Smith recalled. “She was the hardest-working person I have ever seen.”
Kail-Smith remembered Harris as “feisty,” with a strong sense of humor. Kail-Smith said she would sometimes steal stuffed animals from Harris’ office and prop them up on other council member’s chairs, something Harris would find amusing.
Harris was also a passionate advocate for marginalized groups, Kail-Smith said, particularly victims of domestic violence, which Kail-Smith said her friend witnessed in her own family as she was growing up.
“She didn’t just start caring because she ran for office,” Kail-Smith said. “She cared, and that’s why she ran for office.”
A ‘neighborhood girl’
Mark Fatla, the former longtime executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference, worked closely with Harris while she served on council.
Fatla said he remembers Harris as often underestimated but working quietly behind the scenes to support business districts throughout North Side.
“A lot of people talk about community planning. Darlene gave it teeth,” Fatla said. “She wanted to make sure that the neighborhood had a voice and had a relationship with projects and developments and property owners.”
Fatla said Harris was a “neighborhood girl” and had close relationships throughout the area.
One year on Christmas Eve, Fatla said, the water meter fell off the wall at a property on East Ohio Street. Water began filling the basement of the property. Fatla called Pittsburgh Water, which tried to find the shut-off valve in the sidewalk. When they couldn’t find it, they left, he said.
Fatla called Harris and told her the problem.
“Sure enough, (a utility) guy shows up, wades through the now three feet deep water in the basement, gets to the other end, caps it off, and solves the problem,” Fatla said. “Going through the normal channels, I got nothing. Because Darlene knew who to talk to, we got a solution.”
Animal lover
Harris was known to love animals, sponsoring a free spay-and-neuter program for dogs and cats owned by city residents.
In 2017, she rode an elephant and a camel at the Syria Shrine Circus, explaining she was investigating how the animals were being treated.
Two years later, Harris sponsored a bill that became an ordinance forcing pet owners in the city to register alligators and other dangerous reptiles.
At the time, Harris said the regulations were needed, particularly after several incidents of alligators being caught in city rivers and streets.
Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, praised Harris for standing up for others.
“What I know about her is that she really fought for those who were most vulnerable — children and animals,” Strassburger said. “She wanted to make sure they were safe.”
Strassburger, who served alongside Harris on council for four years, said Harris was an advocate for labor unions and always prioritized her constituents.
“She wasn’t afraid of a fight, for better or for worse. She was known for having a little fight in her,” Strassburger said. “But I think that’s what those she represented wanted.”
Strassburger said the North Side residents Harris represented on council wanted someone who would stick up for them when they felt forgotten — and Harris “did just that.”
“Nobody fought for their communities like Darlene Harris,” O’Connor said.
Despite some controversies, when Harris left office at the end of 2019, City Council declared it Darlene Harris Day, honoring the councilwoman for more than a decade of service.
“All I can say is it’s been a wonderful life,” Harris said that day.
TribLive staff writer Megan Trotter contributed to this report.