Primary Election is May 18
by Rob Taylor Jr.
Courier Staff Writer
Four years ago, there wasn’t this type of hype heading into the Pittsburgh Democratic mayoral primary.
Four years ago, current Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto wasn’t spotted doing the “two-step” or the “Wobble,” but he was all Eat ‘n Park smiles at his campaign party at The Boiler Room on Banksville Road, following his landslide victory over challengers Rev. John Welch and Darlene Harris.
He won the Democratic primary with 69 percent of the vote, crushing Rev. Welch’s 17.5 percent and Harris’ 13 percent, on his way to easily taking the mayoral crown in November 2017 to ensure a second term.
But this time, this coming Tuesday, May 18, the forecast seems to be calling for a closer election.
From Westinghouse High School, to WTAE-TV, to the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa., to WPXI-TV this past Sunday, there have been mayoral debates all over town. The interest in just who will be Pittsburgh’s next mayor is real. It’s palpable.
What’s got the kettle whistling is state Rep. Ed Gainey’s run for mayor.
Representative Gainey is poised to become the first African American mayor in the storied history of the Steel City. He’s got popularity all over the East End, where his state House District (24) encompasses. He’s front-and-center at pretty much every Black community function, and he for years hosted a Christmas toy drive, where more than a thousand people would come to the former Homewood Coliseum and receive toys, food, etc.
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PITTSBURGH MAYOR ED GAINEY is the primary reason there’s so much attention on this year’s Primary Election. He’s looking to unseat Mayor Bill Peduto, who has been Pittsburgh’s mayor since 2014. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)
There’s a heightened awareness about African American empowerment since the death of George Floyd, and corporations all across the country have tried to hire more African Americans, re-commit to a diverse workplace, and rid of any discrimination or racial biases.
When it comes to Pittsburgh, however, it’s going to be up to the people, the 300,000 residents, to determine whether Rep. Gainey gets the nod, if Mayor Peduto gets a third term, or maybe they want a newcomer, like retired Officer Tony Moreno or ride-sharing employee Michael Thompson (Will Parker, who is Black, is running as an independent in the November general election).
From a demographic point of view, the percentage of African Americans in Pittsburgh is declining. It’s now at under 23 percent. At one point, Pittsburgh had a 28 percent Black population at the turn of the century. That may not bode well for Rep. Gainey.
On the other hand, younger, more progressive individuals are moving into the city (though many believe at the expense of African Americans), and many of those individuals have proven to be more liberal, more accepting of African American upliftment. This may bode well for Rep. Gainey.
Representative Gainey’s message is simple — over the past eight years, he believes nothing has been done to improve life for African Americans in Pittsburgh and make this city a city for all. He feels he’s the man who can turn it around.
“This is not a new issue. We understand that Pittsburgh is not a great place for the Black community and we (Peduto administration) have done nothing over the years, absolutely nothing,” Rep. Gainey said during the WTAE-TV (Channel 4) debate on April 28. Representative Gainey said there needs to be more city contracts made available to minorities, and to work with women “to make sure that we’re building them up to get some of these contracts so that they can hire people that look like them and stay here.”
Also, Rep. Gainey said there needs to be more affordable housing in Pittsburgh. “They say we expanded the tax base in Pittsburgh, but 7,000 African Americans were forced or pushed out,” he said. “We can do better than that as a city, but you have to have a mayor that has a vision of inclusion, not exclusion.”
Mayor Peduto, in the WTAE debate, said that he understands that African Americans have it much worse than Whites do in the city. However, he said he has worked hard to create equity in the city, with, aptly titled, the “Office of Equity.”
“We provided the model in order to provide equity in everything we do,” saying that it starts with kids in Pre-Kindergarten and “it continues to our seniors.”
During the debate at Westinghouse High School on March 26, Rep. Gainey and Mayor Peduto sparred over the issue of gentrification in Pittsburgh.
“‘Market rate’ hasn’t brought anybody that looks like us back to our neighborhood,” Rep. Gainey said about the new apartments in East Liberty erected over the years and the dismantling of the former Penn Plaza apartments. “He (Mayor Peduto) knows like I know that we (African Americans) don’t have the means (finances) to do it… the truth is people have been gentrified out of those communities… inclusionary zoning, we need that, that helps keep us in our community. We have to focus on affordable housing, because mixed-income housing as ‘market rate’ hasn’t worked for everybody to make this a city for all. It hasn’t. Just look at it. We don’t need somebody to tell us a fact. The truth is, we can look and see how it’s been gentrified. That’s why we need a new mayor. One that is going to tell you the truth, not the rhetoric. Eight years of rhetoric, without a plan of action. Leadership is not a position, it’s an action, that’s why we need to move forward. And if it hasn’t been done in eight years, please believe, it will not be done in the next four.”
SENIORS ROBYN ARRINGTON-EPPERSON AND DUANE COOPER moderated the Westinghouse High School Mayoral Debate, held March 26. (Photos by Rob Taylor Jr.)
Mayor Peduto, in numerous debates, said that the city didn’t have an affordable housing plan prior to his becoming mayor, and he worked with City Council, specifically Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, to start a Housing Opportunity Fund which helps fund housing initiatives in the city. Mayor Peduto has also worked closely on the initiative with Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess. Both Councilmen are Black; both have endorsed Mayor Peduto in the mayoral race.
Candidate Thompson said during the WTAE debate that affordable housing should be placed in neighborhoods like Lawrenceville, which he called a safe, peaceful neighborhood. It helps everyone, he said, when those classified as living in affordable housing can live in places that are more affluent. He also wants those building luxury apartments to set aside 25 percent of the units for affordable housing.
Candidate Moreno directed most of his ire at Mayor Peduto during the WTAE debate, saying that while Pittsburgh has been ranked as one of the worst places for African Americans, “your answer was to create a policy that we’re not going to discriminate against hair. It makes no sense. Make sure that we have jobs programs that directly affect that Black community. They are suffering, they’re crying out for help and we’re just ignoring them, and right now, it’s election time, so we’re coming up with answers that should have already been done.”
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PITTSBURGH MAYOR REP. ED GAINEY speaks with 90.5 WESA reporter Ariel Worthy. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)
“I want a Pittsburgh where everybody feels welcome and we know right now they don’t,” Rep. Gainey said at the WTAE debate. “I want to make sure that we fix our police/community relations. Sixty-five percent of the people getting arrested (in the city) are Black,” but only 23 percent of the residents are Black, he said. And, “75 percent of people being arrested as a result of traffic stops are Black. We can do better than that,” Rep. Gainey said.
When WTAE allowed the candidates to give their closing comments, Mayor Peduto said that “Pittsburgh has changed dramatically since my days in the 1980s and 1990s and the only way we are able survive is by working together…through all of the crises that we’ve faced these past seven years, Pittsburgh, it’s been that attitude and that way that we’ve been able to work together to get through it. I see our time ahead very optimistically and I want to finish the job I started and to serve out to build a Pittsburgh for all.”
In Rep. Gainey’s closing comments, he said that “we need to make this city more welcoming, we can do that, but it’s going to take all of us…I’m looking forward to being that leader. I’m asking for your vote because a vote for Ed Gainey is a vote for unity. No more broken promises, just getting the work done. Making Pittsburgh feel as one again. We can do that. We can have a city for all. I thank you for your support on May 18, and I’ll show you the next day, I’ll go right to work.”
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