Port Authority voting-rights suit going to trial

The Port Authority of Allegheny County's fight to keep a voting-rights advertising campaign off its buses finally goes to trial today.

The Pittsburgh League of Young Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Port Authority in 2006 after it refused to accept an ad explaining voting rights of ex-convicts. A non-jury trial was scheduled to begin today before U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry.

"While we understand that people may view some of the ACLU's work as controversial, we never expected that to be the case when it comes to informing people about their rights, especially as it relates to voting," said ACLU attorney Witold "Vic" Walczak.

Port Authority spokeswoman Judi McNeil declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

Port Authority lawyers have argued the ad violates agency policy because it represents a political message. The Port Authority has a policy against accepting noncommercial ads, with some exceptions.

The voters' group and the ACLU counter that the ad is apolitical because it only informs ex-convicts they might have a right to vote, not for whom to vote. The ACLU ran a billboard ad before the 2006 election that read "Been to jail or prison? Vote Nov. 7. It's your right."

Walczak criticized the financially troubled Port Authority for refusing to accept the ad.

"It remains a mystery as to why Port Authority is fighting so hard and spending so much money on lawyers to prevent the League and ACLU from giving the agency money to run ads on buses that are virtually barren of ads," Walczak said.

The Port Authority has not responded to a right-to-know request filed Friday by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review seeking the amount it has paid a private lawyer to fight the lawsuit.Through March, the bill totaled more than $89,000.