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Candidates for Pittsburgh City Council's open District 8 seat participate in a forum at Chatham University in January. From left: Sonja Finn, Martin Healey, Rennick Remley and Erika Strassburger.
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Endorsements emerging in East End city council race

Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette

Endorsements emerging in East End city council race

With two weeks left before a special election for Pittsburgh City Council, interest groups have begun declaring their favorites in the District 8 contest.

The Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1 has endorsed the Republican nominee, Rennick Remley, while Pittsburgh Firefighters Local No. 1 and Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics Local No. 1 are supporting Erika Strassburger, campaign and union officials said Friday. Ms. Strassburger and Martin Healey are running as independents in the East End race after losing the Democratic nomination to Sonja Finn.

Mr. Remley, of Squirrel Hill, said the FOP support would be “immensely helpful” to his bid. The city police bureau is budgeted for around 900 uniformed members, although it wasn’t immediately clear how many live — and vote — in District 8.

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“It adds a huge amount of validity to my campaign. That’s where it’s really going to help,” Mr. Remley said of the FOP nod.

Martin Healey, left, looks on as Sonja Finn answers a question during a candidate forum for the Pittsburgh city council district 8 special election Thursday at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill.
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He didn’t promise the union any policy positions or votes, he said. “But I did promise them that I would be a voice in their concerns and that I would listen, which is something that nobody has done to them in a while.”

Officer Robert Swartzwelder, president of FOP Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1, credited Mr. Remley for taking an interest in police staffing levels, calling him articulate and “clearly qualified.” The candidate is the corporate relations manager at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

Still, voter registration in the city heavily favors Democrats, who have controlled city council for decades. Mayor Bill Peduto and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, both Democrats, and three city council members have endorsed Ms. Strassburger. She was chief of staff under then-Councilman Dan Gilman, who gave up the seat in January to become Mr. Peduto’s chief of staff.

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Ms. Strassburger’s experience in city hall is useful as Pittsburgh faces crucial infrastructure needs in fire stations, said Ralph Sicuro, board president at Pittsburgh Firefighters Local No. 1.

“Her awareness to that situation was helpful” when she met with the firefighters’ union, Mr. Sicuro said, adding that he thinks she’ll be “responsive to the needs.” Pittsburgh employs around 650 firefighters.

The Strassburger campaign confirmed several other endorsements Friday, including those from the Clean Water Action nonprofit group; Laborers’ District Council of Western Pennsylvania; Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 12; Iron Workers Local Union No. 3; the Shadyside Chamber of Commerce and Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ.

Ms. Strassburger, of Squirrel Hill, “has already been out there helping our members, fighting on behalf of our members on various campaigns,” said Sam Williamson, Western Pennsylvania district director at Local 32BJ.

So far, the Finn and Healey campaigns have not announced endorsements. Ms. Finn, of Point Breeze, is the owner and chef at Dinette restaurant in East Liberty. Mr. Healey, of Shadyside, is chief financial officer at the Healey Company, a real estate and construction firm in South Side.

At the Finn campaign, manager Tracy Royston said efforts are centered more on grassroots outreach than endorsements.

“I do think that our campaign is more focused on the grassroots [work] of really reaching out to the voters and representing the district,” Ms. Royston said.

Mr. Healey said he has a recommendation from the Steel City Stonewall Democrats. The equal-rights group can’t endorse him because he’s not running as a Democrat, he said.

“My ties are not necessarily to any heavy political donor class or tied to city politics. It’s really just about trying to represent folks in the district. That’s my goal. I come at it from a different point of view,” Mr. Healey said. “I don’t necessarily want to be tied to anything politically.”

The special election in District 8, which includes Shadyside and parts of Squirrel Hill, Oakland and Point Breeze, is scheduled for March 6. 

Adam Smeltz: 412-263-2625, asmeltz@post-gazette.com, @asmeltz.

First Published: February 18, 2018, 8:56 p.m.

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Candidates for Pittsburgh City Council's open District 8 seat participate in a forum at Chatham University in January. From left: Sonja Finn, Martin Healey, Rennick Remley and Erika Strassburger.  (Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette)
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