With the Pennsylvania Primary Election tomorrow, QBurgh caught up with the Democratic candidates for Mayor, incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, on the campaign trail to talk about their commitment to making Pittsburgh welcoming for everyone.
Polls open tomorrow, May 20, at 7:00 AM and close at 8:00 PM. You can find your polling location here.
Mayor Ed Gainey
Interview by Chrissy Costa.
On May 20, 2025, incumbent Democratic Mayor Ed Gainey is running for re-election to a second term as Mayor of Pittsburgh. Gainey launched his re-election bid beneath the Fern Hollow Bridge in Frick Park this past September. The location of this announcement was significant as the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge took place less than four weeks after Gainey took office, and quickly became one of his first challenges as Pittsburgh mayor.
Gainey, a former state representative, in 2021 defeated incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto in the Democratic mayoral primary. He then went on to defeat Republican Tony Moreno in the general election, making him both the 61st Mayor of Pittsburgh and the first African-American to hold the position.
Gainey is once again endorsed by the Steel City Stonewall Democrats and is running against Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor in what is predicted to be a close race. Gainey is not only confident in his campaign, he’s also focused on what his administration will continue to accomplish in the next term, specifically for the LGBTQ community. “We pride ourselves on being the voice for people who haven’t been represented in this town and we know with a lot of the attacks coming from Washington right now, particularly with all this craziness with Trump is why we focus so much on the LGBTQ Community,” said Gainey.
In a March 26 post on social media, Gainey wrote: “After hearing from leaders in our trans community, I need to share some disturbing news — multiple reports show that UPMC is denying gender-affirming care following Trump’s executive actions attacking LGBTQ+ Americans. It is unacceptable for UPMC, Pennsylvania’s largest hospital system, to do Trump’s bidding by tearing away health care from our most vulnerable neighbors.”
“As Mayor of Pittsburgh, I am ready to fight alongside our trans community and their allies to stop this. We already worked with City Council to make Pittsburgh a sanctuary city for gender-affirming care to protect our trans community against the life-threatening harm caused by the MAGA movement. I’m ready to lead the fight to protect all vulnerable Pittsburghers against Trump’s attack on our health care.”
On April 3, Mayor Ed Gainey joined LGBTQ+ activist groups and local organizations, including Trans YOUniting, outside UPMC headquarters to protest President Trump’s executive order limiting gender-affirming care and to call on UPMC to reinstate any services they’ve stopped providing to young patients. “Trans rights are human rights and when one is attacked, we all are attacked,” said Gainey.
Gainey is proud to be a sanctuary city for gender-affirming care to protect trans and gender non-conforming people. He stated that he and his team are doing everything they have to do to be proactive and not always reactive against the Trump administration.
When asked what else he would like to accomplish in the next 4-plus years, Gainey responded, “I want to build on the success that we’ve had and continue to build affordable housing. We’ve built more affordable housing than any administration in twenty years and I think that’s critical. If we’re going to repopulate our city and stabilize our neighborhoods, affordability has to be at the top of the list. We got a 30 million dollar affordability bond to do more construction and preservation of affordable housing.”
“I’m proud to report that we got the Fern Hollow Bridge up in record time. I’m proud to report that right now we have no bridges in failing condition,” Gainey said. “We’ve addressed all the bridges that were in failing condition – and we fixed them.”
The Mayor also stated public safety as another success he plans to continue building on. Gainey states that homicides in Pittsburgh decreased by 33% since he took office. He also notes a 44% decrease in gun violence during his administration. “Those are big numbers but the biggest number that means the most to me is the fact that between the ages of 13-17, last year we had no homicides. And a lot of that focuses on our children. When we talk about creating a safe city for everyone, those numbers demonstrate that every community is safer now than it was before I took office.”
Gainey was one of the first mayors to come out against ICE and faced a lot of backlash for doing so. But he stands his ground as he believes ICE creates more violence in our communities because families are scared and when people are scared they do things that fear produces. “I don’t believe you can stabilize neighborhoods by creating an environment of fear.” He noted the difference, however, between those with criminal warrants and the hard-working immigrant and refugee citizens who’ve been here for years and who he said have done nothing but produce and who’ve been great for our economy and neighborhoods. He believes these are the people we have to protect.
When asked if he was concerned about the criticism he’s faced, specifically related to having multiple high-profile administration staff, including two of the LGBTQ community, leave in the midst of controversy, the Mayor replied, “Every administration has had major turnover. The previous administration had the whole administration turned over. Nobody talks about that. I still have the majority of my core team with me. I had some amazing people working for me and I’m proud of the work they put in. We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all the things we’ve accomplished without them.”
Asked about the resignation of former communications director Maria Montaño, who made history as the first openly transgender person to serve as the city’s official spokesperson, the mayor stated he couldn’t get into personnel issues of course, but said, “I love Maria Montano. She did a phenomenal job and she will continue to do a great job. She changed the landscape. She demonstrated that quality is quality. And whenever you have someone who breaks that ceiling, those questions of inequality can no longer be addressed.”
Despite the possibility of a tight race, Gainey is not worried about his opponent and is confident that his work these past four years will allow him to continue making Pittsburgh a city for all.
Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor
Interview by Michael Buzzelli.
With the Democratic Primary tomorrow, Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor is hoping to unseat incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey. O’Connor is running on the campaign trail with the slogan, “Pittsburgh Deserves Better.”
O’Connor is knocking on doors and going all in on his campaign to win the primary. The candidate has a growing number of organizations behind him, including the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union, the Iron Workers, and Teamsters Local 249. He said, “I have five city council members endorsing my candidacy. It is an unprecedented number of endorsements from the city council.”
Council member Erika Strassburger said, “We stood together after one of Pittsburgh’s darkest days to take on the powerful gun lobby and fight for our residents’ safety and have partnered on meaningful efforts to make Pittsburgh a more sustainable and resilient city, improve public health, and revitalize our neighborhood business districts.”
The primary candidate aims to strengthen the city’s economy, promote public safety, support small businesses, increase the supply of affordable housing, and advocate for housing-insecure residents of Pittsburgh.
O’Connor has a legacy to uphold. His father, Mayor Bob O’Connor, presided over Pittsburgh from January 2006 until his sudden death in September 2006.
He said, “Small businesses in Pittsburgh aren’t getting enough love and support.” As mayor, he is hoping to invest in workforce development.
O’Connor said, “I want to protect the rights of everyone who enters the city of Pittsburgh.”
The County Controller believes it’s time to reframe Pittsburgh, marketing the city as a welcoming and inclusive destination. He added, “I fought for LGBTQ+ rights my entire political career.”
He added, “Pride is coming up the first weekend in June, and I want to make sure everyone who visits the city of Pittsburgh feels welcome.”
In his first term, in 2012, the then City Council member introduced a bill that created the Pittsburgh HIV/AIDS Commission. O’Connor voted to ban conversion therapy in 2016 and in 2019, he voted to add gender identity and expression as protected classes to the City’s code.
As mayor, he’s vowing to protect everyone, including the city’s immigrant community, putting him in direct opposition to executive orders coming out of the White House.
O’Connor said, “I’ve stood up to bullies my entire career. I stood up to the NRA.”
O’Connor received national media coverage for his response to the attack on the Tree of Life Congregation on October 27, 2018, where he co-sponsored gun reform legislation. He has also advocated for stricter gun ordinances on the national stage.
Whoever wins the Democratic Mayoral primary tomorrow will face off against the Republican nominee in the general election on November 4, 2025.
