Updated August 16, 2024 at 9:27 am to include statement by Mayor Gainey.
Maria Montaño, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s Communications Director and one of the administration’s most visible figures, resigned Wednesday after signing a petition supporting a city boycott of Israel during the current war in Gaza.
Widespread rumors up and down Grant Street are that she was forced to resign by Gainey Administration Chief of Staff Jake Wheatley. Montaño’s departure was confirmed by City Press Secretary Olga George by email on Wednesday but she provided no further details.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mayor Ed Gainey said that “Maria’s decision to resign from her position was her own and reflects her selfless desire to keep the focus of the administration on the required work and mission of creating a safe and welcoming city for all.”
“[I]t is important to reiterate my administration’s commitment to supporting the full civil and political rights of our employees, who are free to advocate as they see fit, whether or not their views agree with my own. I will always uphold their freedom to participate in our democracy and to express their moral and political beliefs,” Gainey continued.
The petition, which has sparked legal challenges, seeks to prevent the City from doing business with entities connected to Israel. Montaño’s signature appeared along with three other administration staffers among the thousands of signatures to put the issue before City voters.
Montaña, the first openly trans woman to serve in her role, was hired in 2022 in a sign of the Gainey Administration’s commitment to diversity and the LGBTQ Community. Her resignation marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate surrounding the petition, the City’s stance regarding the current conflict in Gaza, and the Gainey administration’s progressive bona fides.
