Gainey mayoral coalition launching ad push
A coalition of groups that have backed state Rep. Ed Gainey in his bid for mayor of Pittsburgh will launch a six-figure campaign on Monday to hit incumbent Bill Peduto over Black residents leaving the city.
The campaign, deemed Pittsburgh Justice for All, will start with an advertisement that juxtaposes the city being named America’s most livable with rising rents and gentrification — accusing Mr. Peduto of breaking his promise to foster an equitable Pittsburgh.
In a statement that will be released soon, a campaign spokesman will say Mr. Peduto “has no idea what real Pittsburghers need” and that Black and brown residents are being forced out as rents increase.
It speaks to an issue that has been a focal point in the race ahead of the May 18 Democratic primary, as Mr. Peduto defends his record as having expanded affordable housing in the city while also investing in market-rate residential development.
Mr. Gainey, who sits on the board of the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, has countered that the Peduto administration caters to developers — so much so that it has forced out Black Pittsburghers, many of whom Mr. Peduto claims have left by choice for better schools and a better quality of life.
The ad buy and messaging campaign is backed by funds from Allegheny County Justice for All, which is funded to a large extent by two of Mr. Gainey’s most prominent committee backers.
According to campaign finance filings, Allegheny County Justice for All received $100,000 from the political arm of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66 and $50,000 from SEIU Healthcare PA’s political committee in March.
The operating engineers local endorsed Mr. Gainey at the beginning of March, citing the state lawmaker’s record in
Harrisburg on affordable housing, unions and infrastructure. SEIU Healthcare PA, representing health care workers and service employees in health facilities, supports Mr. Gainey mainly for his platform of holding health giant UPMC accountable — something the mayor has failed at, leaders allege.
Allegheny County Justice for All also received about $30,000 worth in phone banking and canvassing from One Pennsylvania, an advocacy group that broke its streak of never endorsing in a Pittsburgh mayoral race to back Mr. Gainey and to buck the incumbent who “is more comfortable being in a room at the top of the tower than down in the streets with the people,” a leader said.