Pittsburgh City Council ushers in 2018 by swearing in its newest member, re-electing president,
Just one member of council, Darlene Harris, dissented
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bruce Kraus, the South Side businessman who just marked 10 years on Pittsburgh City Council, landed a rare third term Wednesday as its president.
Only Darlene Harris, a longtime Kraus foe, dissented in the 7-1 council decision to keep Mr. Kraus, 63, of the South Side Flats, in the leadership role for two more years.
“It’s called principle,” Mrs. Harris said afterward, declining to comment further.
The vote capped hours of closed-door meetings over the presidency late Tuesday in the office of Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, who encouraged discussions to develop consensus.
She said another council member was interested in the post, although several members approached for comment would not confirm which one.
“I didn’t care who was council president as long as we worked together and as long as we were not going to embarrass one another at the table [in public] or embarrass the city by having a battle at the table,” Mrs. KailSmith said.
Councilwoman Deborah Gross nominated Mr. Kraus at a reorganizational meeting Wednesday morning. Council members made no other nominations for president.
Only eight members voted because Dan Gilman has left the nine-member body to work as Mayor Bill Peduto’s chief of staff. A special election will determine a successor for his District 8 seat.
Reached later, Ms. Gross
praised Mr. Kraus’ “ability to create an atmosphere where all council members are able to work with each other.”
“He particularly has tried to not allow council to develop factions.”
Ms. Gross said some past councils excluded certain districts “from having the ability to move forward the kinds of policies that are important to their constituencies. I really have appreciated that by avoiding a split in half these past four years — I think we’ve seen better policies and better outcomes for the city as a whole.”
Mr. Kraus, who represents council District 3, pledged to “lead with integrity, with inclusivity and with an open mind and an open heart.” He believes he does “a really good job of building consensus,” he said.
“For me, it’s not what the position brings to me. It’s what I bring to the position,” Mr. Kraus said after the meeting.
His first legislative proposal in 2018 will seek mandatory sexual harassment training for all city workers, Mr. Kraus said. Under city rules, the president’s duties include making council committee assignments, chairing public hearings, presiding at council meetings and working with the clerk’s office to manage records.
Mr. Kraus named the Rev. Ricky Burgess to lead the influential Committee on Finance and Law, where Mr. Burgess succeeds former Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak. Mr. Burgess said he didn’t seek the committee chairmanship but voted for Mr. Kraus in the interest of unity.
“I serve where I’m asked,” Mr. Burgess said.
Also Wednesday, incoming Councilman Anthony Coghill, Ms. Rudiak’s successor in District 4, took the oath of office to begin his four-year term.
Judges also swore in returning council members Ms. Kail-Smith from District 2 and R. Daniel Lavelle from District 6, both of whom won re-election in November.
All three new and returning members forecast a robust to-do list for city hall. Mr. Lavelle said sexism, racism, youth violence and poverty all underscore the work awaiting council.
“This city is poised to be a phenomenal city,” Mr. Lavelle said. “But as long as we still have one of the most impoverished African-American communities in this country, we’ve got a whole lot of work to do. We need to do better.”