Bucking her colleagues on Pittsburgh City Council to become the only member to endorse the sitting mayor’s primary challenger, Councilwoman Deb Gross said state Rep. Ed Gainey should be the next mayor because he’d take action on the pressing issues facing the city and not just talk about them.
Ms. Gross, who represents council’s 7th District, said Pittsburghers deserve a mayor they can trust and who trusts them back, and one who will listen to them. That’s Mr. Gainey, she said, and not Mayor Bill Peduto.
In making her announcement Wednesday night, the councilwoman described a city that is changing rapidly, with some neighborhoods seeing massive development in recent years — to the tune of millions of dollars — while others suffer from blight, abandonment and disinvestment.
“What we need to do now is take action. We’ve had plans. We’ve had reports. We’ve had task forces. But we have not seen action,” Ms. Gross said at a press conference in Lawrenceville, “and we’ve waited long enough.”
As his campaign deemed Ms. Gross the city’s “most progressive councilwoman,” Mr. Gainey claimed the incumbent mayor has run an administration of broken promises over two terms, and claimed his opponent hasn’t kept his word on bringing affordable housing to the city, bettering police-community relations and creating an equitable city for Black and white residents.
The rest of the city’s nine-member council has endorsed Mr. Peduto in the May 18 Democratic primary.
Mr. Peduto’s campaign emailed supporters on Wednesday, asking for donations and reiterating that he’s fought for a “better, more equitable Pittsburgh” and his record shows it.
The mayor also picked up an endorsement from the Teamsters Local 926, adding to a growing list of labor union backers that includes the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council.
“All Pittsburgh residents have the right to good, family-sustaining jobs, and Mayor Peduto has worked hard over the past seven years to make this a reality,” said Marc Dreves, secretary-treasurer and principal officer of the Teamsters local. “We represent hardworking members across multiple industries, and we have seen the mayor’s dedication to working families.”
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1952, Twitter@julianrouth.
First Published: April 21, 2021, 11:04 p.m.
