Tuesday’s general election will decide hundreds of municipal, judicial and school board races in Western Pennsylvania, determine the next mayor of Pittsburgh, and program a new balance on the state’s most prestigious courts.
The election comes as school boards grapple with COVID-19 mandates and how to keep their students safe; as councils find themselves having to spend an influx of pandemic relief dollars; as the courts weigh the legality of election reforms and executive power; and as Pittsburgh faces systemic inequities as well as a debate on the future of policing and property development.
Turnout for municipal elections has traditionally been low, but officials from the two main political parties are urging their voters — begging, at times — to come out and vote, warning that these races could decide the day-to-day governing of communities over a very consequential stretch of time.
In total, Allegheny County approved about 142,000 applications for mail-in and absentee ballots — nearly 111,000 of those from registered Democrats — and as of late last week, had received about 85,000 back from voters.
Voters can drop off their completed mail-in ballots in the lobby of the Allegheny County Office Building at 542 Forbes Avenue from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The county is asking voters to pull up next to the building on the Ross Street side if they’re driving.
On Election Day, all 1,323 polling places will be open. Of those, 41 locations have been changed since the primary, and affected voters were mailed letters directing them to their new polling places. Signage will be posted at their old locations, too, designating the changes.
Here’s what’s at stake Tuesday:
Pittsburgh
The race that has garnered the most attention this year is for mayor.
Democrat Ed Gainey, a Lincoln-Lemington state lawmaker, is facing Republican Tony Moreno, a retired city police officer, in a race to take over for two-term incumbent Democrat Bill Peduto. Mr. Gainey ousted Mr. Peduto in May’s Democratic Primary, and Mr. Moreno — who also ran and lost in the Democratic primary — accepted a GOP write-in nomination.
There is one contested race for Pittsburgh City Council, the nine-member body that wields as much influence — in most cases — as the mayor.
In District 4, Democratic incumbent Anthony Coghill is up against Green Party candidate Connor Mulvaney. The winner will serve a four-year term in the district, which covers the city’s southern neighborhoods, including Beechview, Brookline and Carrick. Mr. Coghill is finishing his first term on council; Mr. Mulvaney is a Brookline-based bike mechanic.
Running unopposed for City Council are Democratic incumbents Theresa Kail-Smith (District 2), Daniel Lavelle (District 6) and Erika Strassburger (District 8).
As the district enters a new era poised to hire a new schools superintendent for the first time since 2015, the board of Pittsburgh Public Schools has five seats up for election, two of which are contested. In both cases, the Republican candidates are current Democratic seat holders who lost their primaries but won on the GOP side.
In District 5, Democrat Tracey Reed is taking on Republican Terry Kennedy, a two-term incumbent from Squirrel Hill. In the 9th District, Democrat Gene Walker faces Republican Veronica Edwards, who has served one term on the board.
School board President Sylvia Wilson, a Democrat, is running unopposed in District 1. In pursuit of a second term representing District 3, Democrat Sala Udin is also unopposed. And newcomer Jamie Piotrowski, a Democrat, finds herself unopposed in District 7.
Allegheny County
Six seats on the county’s 15-member council are up for election, three of which are contested.
In the 1st District that extends from Findlay and North Fayette in the west through Ohio River Valley communities to Ross and West View, Democrat Jack Betkowski faces Republican Joe Wise. The winner will succeed current seat holder Tom Baker, a Republican.
In District 3, incumbent Democrat Anita Prizio, who first won her seat in 2017, is up against Republican Meredith Dolan, of Fox Chapel. The district covers Aspinwall, Etna, Fox Chapel, Hampton, Indiana, Millvale, O’Hara, Reserve, Shaler, Sharpsburg and West Deer.
And in District 8, Democrat Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis is running against Republican Eric Casteel. Both candidates are Plum residents, and are vying to take over for Democrat Paul Zavarella in the district that includes Plum, Monroeville, Wilkinsburg and 14 Mon Valley communities.
Council President Pat Catena of District 4, Bob Macey of District 9 and Bob Palmosina of District 12 — all Democrats — face no opposition on the ballot.
Also running unopposed is Kevin Kraus for county sheriff. He is cross-filed as a Democrat and Republican.
In addition to several seats on Magisterial District Court, there are 10 openings on Allegheny County Common Pleas Court — an unprecedented level of turnover that has seen a rush of candidacies.
Vying for the 10 spots are Bruce Beemer (D&R), Thomas P. Caulfield (D), William “Bill” Caye (R), Jessel Costa III (D), Anthony DeLuca (R), Mark Patrick Flaherty (R), Nicola Henry-Taylor (D), Rick Hosking (R), Elliot Howsie (D), Daniel J. Konieczka, Jr. (R), Sabrina Korbel (D&R), Lisa Middleman (D&R), Joseph Patrick Murphy (R), Chuck Porter (R), Tiffany Sizemore (D), Chelsa Wagner (D), Wrenna Watson (D) and Richard L. Weiss (Green).
Statewide
If they so choose, voters in Western Pennsylvania will have a sizable influence on the results of several key statewide judicial races.
There’s one vacancy on the state’s Supreme Court, where Democrats currently hold a 5-to-2 majority. Democrat Maria McLaughlin, a Superior Court judge, faces Republican Kevin Brobson, a Commonwealth Court judge.
Battling for two seats on Commonwealth Court — where Republicans hold a 7-to-2 majority — are Democrat Lori Lumas, a judge on Philadelphia Common Pleas Court; Democrat David Spurgeon, a judge on Allegheny County Common Pleas Court; Republican Stacy Wallace, a Bradford lawyer; and Republican Drew Crompton, a former top state Senate aide.
And for one opening on Superior Court, among the nation’s busiest state appeals courts, Democrat Timika Lane, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge, faces longtime prosecutor Megan Sullivan, a Republican.
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1952 or Twitter @julianrouth.
First Published: November 1, 2021, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: November 1, 2021, 9:30 a.m.
