Mr. Catena has been a member of Allegheny County Council since 2017 and has served as its President since 2020. Throughout his tenure, President Catena has been extremely active in legislative and other initiatives relating to a variety of topics, including public safety, economic development, budgeting, property tax appeals and policy, human services, and government efficiency. 

Catena has taken a leadership role in reforming the County’s property tax appeal system in the wake of litigation that demonstrated significant errors made by administrative branch staff that disadvantaged taxpayers over a period of years and is a staunch advocate for increased budgetary oversight. Most recently in the context of the County’s Department of Human Services, whose budget encompasses nearly a quarter of the County’s total operating expenditures.

While a member of County Council, President Catena has sponsored or co-sponsored enacted ordinances establishing a County demolition fund to aid municipalities in remediating blighted properties, requiring that the County take steps to ensure that its construction equipment emits as little air pollution as possible, forbidding discrimination in medical treatment settings, assisting local police departments in acquiring body worn camera equipment, improving operational readiness at the County’s 9-1-1 Call Center and County Jail, refining the County’s longtime owner occupant tax discount program, and creating a property tax credit program for the County’s first volunteer firefighters and nonprofit EMS employees. He has also advocated for the County’s paid sick leave regulations, which foster public health and provide a vital safety net for individuals struggling to make ends meet, particularly those employed in the service industries. Throughout his time on County Council, he has consistently worked with Council members on both sides of the aisle and has remained a tireless proponent of increasing the ability of Council to function simultaneously as a partner with and vital check and balance to the County’s Chief Executive.

His professionalism, creative vision, persistence and self-motivation show in his strong leadership skills and is an asset to County Council and the many constituents he represents. Throughout the years President Catena’s financial acumen in business and analytics have played a key role in his decision-making process. His business experience is an asset to the community of Carnegie and across Allegheny County in District 4 and as President of County Council all of Allegheny County.