Corey O'Connor PAC accused of using racist tactics to unseat Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey
Pittsburgh's mayoral race took a dark turn on Monday when a group of activists and state representatives accused supporters of Corey O'Connor's campaign of using racist tactics to unseat the city's first Black mayor.
Specifically, the group condemned a mailer sent to city residents questioning the award of city contracts to some minority-owned businesses, including an alleged business partner of Mayor Ed Gainey's wife.
On Monday at the City-County Building, the group denounced the mailer as part of a dog whistle campaign against Gainey.
"This mailer is a clear demonstration of these tactics," said Brandi Fisher of the Alliance for Police Accountability
The mailer doesn't mention race, nor does it name any specific organizations, but it accuses the administration of wasting $6 million on a comprehensive plan, some of which is slated to go to the organization 1Hood and to Brown Mamas, an advocacy group for Black women.
The mailer also cites a "sweetheart contract" to an alleged business partner of the mayor's wife, referring to the city's award of $125,000 to Bounce Marketing to put on last year's Juneteenth festival.
The mailer is the third sent to city residents funded by a political action committee of O'Connor supporters called Common Sense Change Action. This political action committee is funded mostly by local trade unions and has raised $264,000 in so-called independent expenditures.
State Rep. Aerion Abney called on O'Connor directly to condemn the mailer.
"I am asking you and encouraging you to call this out, to denounce it," Abney said. "And to affirm that these tactics have no place in politics and in this region."
Under campaign finance laws, PACs can spend unlimited amounts of money in independent expenditures as long as there is no coordination or communication with the candidates and their campaigns. O'Connor's campaign did not denounce the mailer but said it had nothing to do with its content, issuing this statement:
"Hateful rhetoric in any form is unacceptable. It has no place in this race and will have no place in Corey O'Connor's administration, if elected. The O'Connor campaign is committed to tackling the very real issues facing Pittsburgh - looming bankruptcy, overwhelmed public safety departments, and a lack of affordable housing. This is the discussion Pittsburghers deserve."
Mike Mikus, the administrator of Common Sense Change Action, said the mailer is citing government waste in the Gainey administration and has nothing to do with race.
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