2 weeks Ago By Julia Maruca
A televised Democratic mayoral primary debate between incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey and challenger Corey O’Connor saw both candidates stick close to their past talking points while taking the opportunity to throw fresh barbs at each other from the podium. The debate, held on WPXI and moderated by Lisa Sylvester, was the first to be aired on TV in this race. The candidates were each given 60 seconds respectively for opening and closing statements, and 60 seconds per question with 30 seconds for rebuttals.
Early questions saw the candidates respecting the time limit more closely, but later questions resulted in back-and-forth rebuttals where the candidates interrupted, talked over one another, and demanded their opponent answer questions of their own. Gainey spent much of his air time highlighting his administration’s existing programs. He noted that, according to a recently released city database tool , his administration has provided the city a total of 1,600 units of affordable housing that are either in process, under construction, or completed.
However, according to the tool, 500 of that number are fully complete. “We've delivered some great results for the city of Pittsburgh,” Gainey said. Along with the affordable housing units, he pointed to a decrease in homicides and an increase in job growth in the city.
O’Connor returned to a past criticism of city money management, arguing that Gainey’s administration has already damaged Pittsburgh’s financial future. He argued that no matter whether the city’s bond ratings are good, “bond ratings don’t buy us ambulances. They do not turn on water fountains in the summer.
“Lean times are here, Pittsburgh. We are not being transparent about the financial cliff that we are about to walk over,” he said, pointing to a recent report from City Controller Rachael Heisler noting that the city has used up much of its overtime spending for the year already. (A spokesperson for the Gainey campaign said that the city uses more overtime in the winter because of inclement weather.
) O’Connor and Gainey also argued back and forth on affordable housing policy. Gainey has made citywide inclusionary zoning a centerpiece of his housing package — that’s a policy that requires new developments of over 20 units to make 10% or more of their units affordable for people with lower incomes. The policy has garnered opposition from some, including developers and housing advocates who see it as increasing the cost of new construction.
But proponents of the policy see it as a way to stave off housing segregation and make neighborhoods accessible to people of all incomes. O’Connor maintained that inclusionary zoning is a tool, but not the only tool to create affordable housing. In response, Gainey repeatedly asked O’Connor whether there are neighborhoods in the city where he doesn’t think affordable housing should go.
O’Connor said affordable housing should be present everywhere in the city, but that citywide inclusionary zoning isn’t the way to do it. The portions of the debate that garnered the most squabbling were when Gainey and O’Connor sparred over accusations that O’Connor had accepted money from people who had also donated to President Donald Trump. Gainey said O’Connor would be beholden to right-wing donors, while O’Connor characterized the accusations as “lies” that “somebody in Washington, D.
C., who's consulting with [Gainey]” is pushing. He said Gainey was trying to distract from his troubles in the city.
He again faulted Gainey for being previously willing to host the 2024 Republican National Convention in Pittsburgh . Both O’Connor and Gainey were asked whether they would consider raising taxes and cutting jobs to address the city’s financial troubles in the future. “If we had to do that, we would make the decision when it was time,” Gainey said, but denied that he thought finances would get that severe.
“We're not going to go down that road because I don't believe we'll have to.” O’Connor said he’d focus instead on reexamining the amount of money that goes to the mayor’s office, and said he’d focus on reaching payment deals with the city’s large nonprofits to help fill Pittsburgh’s funding gaps —- a goal that has eluded multiple previous mayors, including Gainey. “We're not doing the basics that city taxpayers deserve, because we are not actually sitting down and having detailed conversations about the future of Pittsburgh,” O’Connor said.
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