90.5 WESA
A mayoral debate broadcast by WTAE Channel 4 took a sharp turn in its final minutes as incumbent Bill Peduto accused rival Ed Gainey of taking votes and political positions in exchange for union endorsements a tactic Peduto called “at best unethical.
The exchange came over 40 minutes into the hour-long debate, when Gainey accused Peduto of backing out of a pledge to continue a lawsuit challenging the tax-exempt status of UPMC once he took office.
“When this administration came in, they said they would take up the lawsuit. They dropped it,” Gainey said.
The lawsuit was initiated by Peduto’s predecessor, Luke Ravenstahl, in 2013. At the time, Peduto called the lawsuit a “good first step” and indicated that if elected mayor, he would pursue it as part of a broader legal challenge against other large nonprofits.