In the only contested race for a spot on City Council this election cycle, incumbent Anthony Coghill appeared to maintain a big lead against Green Party candidate Connor Mulvaney to keep his seat.

Mr. Coghill, a Democrat, looks almost certain to continue to represent District 4, which covers the city’s southern neighborhoods, including Beechview, Brookline and Carrick.

“I feel like I got a mandate and a vote of confidence from [voters] today to say, ‘Hey, you’re doing a good job, just keep doing what you’re doing,’” Mr. Coghill said Tuesday evening. “I ran on my record. Hopefully, people saw the progress we made.”

As of 11:54 p.m. Tuesday, with 98% of precincts reporting their results, Mr. Coghill was ahead of Mr. Mulvaney by a margin of 68% to 31%.

On Tuesday evening, Mr. Mulvaney said he intended to wait until every vote of the day was counted. He did not concede the race.

“We don’t intend to give up, we want to hold Councilman Coghill and the rest of the city accountable,” Mr. Mulvaney said. “We knew that he would be ahead in early voting. I want to wait … until every vote is counted.”

Mr. Coghill, 55, is finishing his first term in office. He ran his campaign on a “back to basics” approach with a focus on infrastructure, safety and demolishing abandoned properties, he told the Post-Gazette in October ahead of the race.

On election night, Mr. Coghill said his priorities weren’t going to change from his first term. His focus would be on “infrastructure, public safety, more infrastructure,” he said.

He also planned to stick to his track record of rebuilding and removing blighted properties, and working on getting streets and alleyways paved, something that he said came up often at the polls Tuesday.

“Nothing new on the agenda because the voters spoke today, I think loud and clear,” Mr. Coghill said. “I’m going to continue doing the same thing.”

Born and raised in Beechview, Mr. Coghill started a roofing company in 1996 at age 30.

His first position in government was working as a constituent liaison for State Sen. Wayne Fontana, a Democrat who represents Pennsylvania’s 42nd district, which includes parts of Allegheny County.

In 2010, Mr. Coghill was elected as an Allegheny County Democratic Committeeman and now serves as the chairman of the 19th Ward.

Mr. Mulvaney, the Green Party challenger, ran his campaign with a “holistic approach” and the intent to advocate for more city spending on affordable housing, pedestrian and bicycle safety measures, and overhauling the public safety department, he told the Post-Gazette ahead of the race.

Mr. Mulvaney, 28, of Brookline, is a bike technician who has previously worked as a union baker and cross country coach.

Three other current City Council Democrats — council President Theresa Kail-Smith, District 2; Councilman Daniel Lavelle, District 6; and Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, District 8 — ran unopposed Tuesday.

The remaining five council members — Councilman Bobby Wilson, District 1; Councilman Bruce Kraus, District 3; Councilman Corey O’Connor, District 5; Councilwoman Deb Gross, District 7; and Councilman Ricky Burgess, District 9 — are in office through 2024.

Lauren Rosenblatt: lrosenblatt@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1565.

First Published: November 3, 2021, 4:01 a.m.