City council candidate pledges to abstain from votes concerning husband’s law firm
If she’s elected to Pittsburgh City Council, Erika Strassburger will abstain from any discussion or contract votes involving the Downtown law firm where her spouse is a shareholder, the District 8 candidate pledged this week.
That law firm — Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky — is up for a three-year city contract that could pay the company as much as $300,000. Seven lawyers and shareholders at the firm, including her husband, Jordan Strassburger, and two of Ms. Strassburger’s in-laws there, gave a combined $4,150 to her campaign, according to disclosures filed with the city.
Ms. Strassburger and Mr. Strassburger, of Squirrel Hill, do not believe the contributions will present a conflict of interest, they said. The firm also secured city legal contracts in 2013 and 2014 worth up to $48,500 and $50,000, respectively, public records show.
“I think they’re supporting me because they see me as a qualified candidate,” said Ms. Strassburger, who is running against Sonja Finn, Martin Healey and Rennick Remley to succeed Dan Gilman in the East End council seat. She said contributors at the firm “know me personally, and I’ve gained their trust over the last several years they’vegrown to know me.”
Council is to vote next week on the latest agreement with Strassburger McKenna, a plan to help the city update tax forms, policies and related ordinances on business taxes. In a council meeting Wednesday, the city’s chief financial officer, Sam Ashbaugh, said two firms responded to a request for proposals. He said the other respondent didn’t have sufficient expertise.
Only eight members on the nineseat council will vote on the Strassburger McKenna deal. Mr. Gilman, with whom Ms. Strassburger worked as chief of staff, vacated the District 8 seat last month to become Mr. Peduto’s chief of staff. The district includes Shadyside and parts of Oakland, Point Breeze and Squirrel Hill.
At Strassburger McKenna, Mr. Strassburger said his colleagues are familiar with her work in the District 8 office.
“We’ve been around since 1919, and we have a tremendous reputation,” he said of the firm. “We would never engage in any sort of business that had any hint of conflict. We take that very seriously.”
Ms. Strassburger’s abstention
pledge comes amid growing interest in the District 8 race, for which a special election will be held March 6. In a recent round of campaign finance reports, Ms. Strassburger, who is running as an independent, logged the biggest haul — $91,241 in contributions — for the period that ended Jan. 31.
She said her contributors feature more than 150 individuals across District 8. Ms. Finn, of Point Breeze, who won the Democratic nomination, reported $13,771 from more than 40 donors; Mr. Healey, of Shadyside, who is running as an independent, $11,056 from more than 10 donors; and Mr. Remley, of Squirrel Hill, the Republican nominee, $13,930 from more than 10 donors, as well.
In a letter published Tuesday in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ms. Finn spotlighted several categories of Strassburger supporters, including political action committees, elected officials and developers. Committees supporting Mr. Gilman and Mr. Peduto gave $5,000 apiece to Ms. Strassburger.
The scope of such contributions “makes me ask whether my candidacy is seen as a threat by the current [Peduto] administration, and if so, to what? Their power?” Ms. Finn said, soon adding: “The people hold the power, and we are their public servants.”
In a statement Thursday, Mr. Peduto, a Democrat, said he has “no doubt that all of the candidates are in this race for the right reasons.” He said he knows that Ms. Finn “is disappointed not to receive my endorsement.” (Ms. Finn said she was “definitely saddened that the mayor has not chosen to support the Democrat.”)
“I am supporting Erika Strassburger because I have had the experience of working with her on critical neighborhood and citywide initiatives for nearly a decade,” Mr. Peduto said. “She is qualified and knows how to put her values into action.”
A Peduto adversary, Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner, gave $101 to Ms. Finn. The Democratic nominee won’t “simply go along to get along in city government,” Ms. Wagner said.
Ms. Wagner heard that officials including Mr. Gilman and Mr. Peduto sought contributions for the Strassburger campaign, the controller said. And “you can see that on what I think is a very obscene finance report.
“Within two weeks, they have raised her an amount that’s virtually unparalleled in virtually any other election,” Ms. Wagner said.
Mr. Peduto said he had not made “a single call” but sent two tweets: one asking people to support Ms. Strassburger and another congratulating her on an endorsement from Clean Water Action. He has nearly 86,000 Twitter followers.
Mr. Gilman said he sent email to more than 800 friends in the city “talking about why [Ms. Strassburger] would be good for council,” he said. He said the communication included a link to details on volunteering, pledging a vote or making a contribution.
He rejected as baseless an accusation from Ms. Wagner that Strassburger campaign finances suggest a “pay to play” theme in city hall. The controller had pointed in part to two $2,700 contributions from Gregg Perelman and Todd Reidbord, executives at the Shadyside-based Walnut Capital development group that’s active in Pittsburgh.
Ms. Strassburger and Mr. Reidbord also dismissed the claim. Mr. Perelman cast Ms. Strassburger as “the only qualified” candidate in the race. Walnut Capital has allowed the Strassburger campaign to post signage at Walnut properties, among other support.
“Obviously, we’re a large developer in the district, but she understands not only our needs,” Mr. Reidbord said. He said that “with progress comes responsibility,” and that the company pursues neighborhood consensus in its projects.
Ms. Strassburger said she prioritizes hearing what District 8 residents want in local development. Her finance report lists at least $14,000 in contributions from people at real estate, development and property concerns.
“I’ll point back to the diversity of my contributions” overall, she said. “It’s from the people who live in the community and from people who are going to be leaning on development. As I’ve said many times before to a lot of different audiences, I want to see Pittsburgh grow in a way that improves our community, that ensures that this kind of growth doesn’t come at the expense of our most vulnerable residents.”
At least one developer gave to both Ms. Finn and Ms. Strassburger. Lawrence Gumberg, president at Downtown-based LG Realty Advisors, contributed $1,000 apiece to the campaigns, according to finance disclosures. He did not return calls seeking comment.