Peduto and Gainey reflect on a historic election and the transition of power
This story was originally published by PublicSource, a news partner of NEXTpittsburgh. PublicSource is a nonprofit media organization delivering local journalism at publicsource.org. You can sign up for their newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters.
State Rep. Ed Gainey got a humbling message Tuesday night when Mayor Bill Peduto called him to concede the Democratic primary for mayor of Pittsburgh. It was a warning of sorts: You’ve been elected as a grassroots progressive. Now comes the hard part.
Peduto knows from experience; he was elected as the progressive candidate in 2013 and, eight years later, the progressive movement in the city coalesced around his rival and ousted him from office.
Ed Gainey poised to make history as Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor
This story was originally published by PublicSource, a news partner of NEXTpittsburgh. PublicSource is a nonprofit media organization delivering local journalism at publicsource.org. You can sign up for their newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters.
State Rep. Ed Gainey defeated Mayor Bill Peduto in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, clearing a path to become Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor and signaling a shift in the city’s politics.
There were no candidates for the office on the Republican ballot, though an independent could oppose Gainey in November’s general election. Gainey is the first challenger to unseat an incumbent mayor since 1933.