Report: Allegheny County spokeswoman working again after suicide remark

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – The spokeswoman for Allegheny County’s chief executive returned from administrative leave on Monday following controversial statements she made about a local radio host.

Abigail Gardner, communications director for County Executive Sara Innamorato, apologized in a statement on July 20 for saying on social media that Colin Dunlap, a local radio show host on KDKA, should “jump off a bridge” after he criticized the county’s emergency response to dangerous air quality alerts as overblown.

“You’re right, Colin,” she said. “You should go outside and smoke a pack on a bridge and then jump.”

Gardner was then placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. It’s unclear if taxpayers continued to cover her $160,540 annual salary during the break. The Center Square has asked Allegheny County Council’s media department for clarification regarding her return and whether any further corrective action will be taken.

“I made a tasteless comment out of frustration, and I apologize for my lapse in judgment,” Gardner said in her apology last month. “Suicide should not be a topic that is joked about or used to insult others. My comments were out of line, and I especially apologize to the employees of Allegheny County that I did not hold myself to a higher standard while representing the county.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was the first to report that she had returned to work on Monday. The Center Square has not yet independently confirmed the report.

Gardner’s comments came after Dunlap shared a black-and-white photo of two men smoking on a hazy street corner. In the social media post, he said, “I find the pandemonium about some smoky conditions in Western Pennsylvania for like 26 hours way over the top. Especially when you consider this: some of our grandparents lived this every single day – and smoked a pack a day on top of it.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection had declared a “Code Red” air quality alert that same day, followed by a “Code Orange” on the subsequent Friday. This, after dense smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed Pennsylvania and parts of the Midwest and Northeast.

The county itself declared a “Code Purple” before raising the alert to the highest level, “Code Maroon.” Many events were canceled and outdoor parks were closed amid the emergency conditions.

On his radio show, Dunlap said “do what you want, don’t do what you want.”

“If you have a breathing problem, if you have apprehensions, if you feel like it’s not safe for you, stay home,” he continued. “If you’re A-OK with things, and you feel like, well you know, we’re all going to die some day anyway, what’s one day of walking around getting a little smoke in my lungs, then go out and live your life.”