2 days ago
Pittsburgh Republican mayor candidate Tony Moreno claims collusion between Corey O'Connor and GOP commitees
With the primary elections in the rearview mirror, the Republican nominee for mayor of Pittsburgh, Tony Moreno, has claimed that there is collusion between Republican donors and Democratic nominee Corey O'Connor.
Moreno's claim comes after two local Republican committees said they won't be supporting his campaign.
Both the City of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny County Republican Committees have said they will not fund or support Moreno's campaign.
In a statement, the City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee cited philosophical disagreements on campaign expectations.
"On May 29th, Mayoral Candidate Tony Moreno made a social media post that was misleading and inaccurate in reference to Republican Committee of Allegheny County (RCAC) Chairman, Jason Richey," the statement read. "Many attempts to rectify the dispute went unresolved. RCAC and Pittsburgh GOP leadership agreed that the statement published by Mr. Moreno was too damaging to the party and the slate of city and county candidates. With that, no support, financial or logistical, will be offered to the campaign by either Committee. Individuals are free to support the campaign."
On Tuesday, Moreno told reporters that promises were made during the primary, and those promises haven't come through.
"Now, there's a public dispute about who's getting support, my simple question, if Corey O'Connor can meet with Republican donors, why can't I?" Moreno asked on Tuesday. "I don't understand the collusion, nor does it matter, but I'll take that Trump money, but no one's offering it to me."
Moreno pointed to O'Connor being confirmed as Allegheny County Controller in 2022 with the support of Republicans in the state legislature, and also disputed the county Republican committee's assertion that he'd resign from the committee.
Last month, Moreno won the Republican primary over business owner Thomas West.
