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New York Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Mayor's Son Prepares to Inherit the Job His Father Never Got to Finish
On the morning after, Corey O'Connor stood with his wife, Katie, on a corner in their Pittsburgh neighborhood. Each cradled a toddler in one arm — she carried Molly, he carried Emmett — and in the other arm held up a handmade sign that read 'Thank you, Pittsburgh.' Passers-by waved and honked. That gesture on Wednesday morning was how Mr. O'Connor chose to thank the voters who a day earlier had sent him to victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of Pittsburgh. It was also a familiar one. Mr. O'Connor's father, Bob, had done the same thing when he won the Democratic primary for mayor in 2005, standing on a street corner with a hand-drawn thank-you sign — finally on his way to the city's top office after two failed attempts. For many Pittsburgh residents, the ascent of the younger O'Connor, 40, surely rekindled memories of his father, a champion of the city who was diagnosed with brain cancer six months into his term and died weeks later. 'Corey has it,' said Bruce A. Kraus, who served on the City Council with Mr. O'Connor. 'Corey was weened at his father's heel. He's got a good heart and a good moral compass.' In a city that hasn't had a Republican mayor since one was appointed in 1932, Mr. O'Connor is heavily favored to win the general election in November against the Republican nominee, Tony Moreno. Still, Mr. O'Connor's ascent represents a notable turn for the city and the party, four years after Ed Gainey rode a wave of pandemic-fueled progressivism to defeat two-time incumbent Bill Peduto in the Democratic primary. Mr. Gainey had pledged to not leave poor and working-class neighborhoods behind in bringing the city out of the pandemic. But his progress was incremental and his missteps in running the city left an opening for Mr. O'Connor, who has been controller for Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, since 2022, after serving more than a decade on the City Council. In the end, voters chose a manager over a leader, someone who promised a smooth-running city rather than a grand vision. Mr. Gainey won more votes this time than he did in the four-way primary four years ago, and his support was even stronger in Black neighborhoods. But in a two-person race, Mr. O'Connor, who won 52.8 percent of the vote to Mr. Gainey's 47.2 percent, peeled away votes from Mr. Gainey in traditional liberal strongholds like Squirrel Hill, where Mr. O'Connor lives, and gentrified Lawrenceville. The turnout, which is expected to exceed 60,000 when all the votes are counted, was the biggest in a Democratic primary since 2001. 'We will make our city government deliver,' Mr. O'Connor said late Tuesday night at a campaign party, bounding onto the stage to Bon Jovi's 'Who Says You Can't Go Home.' 'Deliver a police force that is large enough to support our residents and have a chief of police. Enough housing so that anyone can afford to live in Pittsburgh. And support businesses of all sizes so that we can grow and create wealth all over the city.' If his ascent now seems ordained, it was not always so. When his father died, Mr. O'Connor was a senior at Duquesne, the Catholic university in downtown Pittsburgh. The next spring, while pondering whether to apply to graduate school, Mr. O'Connor was at the U.S. Open golf tournament in nearby Oakmont when he ran into an aide for Representative Mike Doyle. The aide asked Mr. O'Connor whether he would be interested in a community development position. He soon realized those days he'd spent tagging along with his father at campaign events and meeting constituents had left a mark. 'My dad always said, 'I'm not going to leave you with any money, but I'm going to leave you with a name that you could do whatever you want with,'' Mr. O'Connor said in an interview last week. 'It's amazing, going around the city, how many people have these little stories — 'Oh, my kid didn't have enough money for ice cream, so your dad gave him $5.'' Mr. O'Connor, who is more than a decade younger than his siblings, said service came naturally to his family. His brother, Terry, is a priest, and his sister, Heidy, has been active in the Bob O'Connor Foundation and other charities. Their mother, Judy O'Connor, who died a year ago, was a longtime volunteer at the Caring Place, which helps grieving children and adolescents. 'There's no doubt this is what he was called to do,' said Mr. O'Connor's wife, Katie, an employment lawyer who had known him as a teenager and reconnected with him in their mid-30s. Still, when Mr. O'Connor considered entering the race last year, the man he wanted to run his campaign, Ben Forstate, tried to talk him out of it. 'He's a young dad in a good position and elections are really hard,' said Mr. Forstate, who managed the successful congressional campaign last year for Chris Deluzio, who represents a swing district of Pittsburgh suburbs. 'You have to really want to do this. I thought he was crazy.' Soon enough, Mr. O'Connor will have to prove he is as adept at running a city as he is at running for office. Barney Oursler, the director of the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, which has supported workers who have lost their jobs since the coal and steel industries began to contract in the 1980s, described Mr. O'Connor as a nice guy who doesn't have a core set of values. He said Mr. O'Connor, while on the City Council, waffled on supporting a paid sick leave proposal after meeting with restaurant owners, but then ultimately voted for the measure, which easily passed. Mr. O'Connor called that characterization a lie, saying that he wanted to be sure the policy withstood any legal challenges. 'He genuinely wants to please everyone,' said Mr. Oursler, who backed Mr. Gainey. 'When he has to make a hard decision, how do you do that when you've made a commitment to everybody?' Nevertheless, when Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Oursler crossed paths last week at a rally to raise the state's minimum wage, they exchanged hellos and a handshake. Past battles, or future ones, were far from Mr. O'Connor's mind on Tuesday. Instead, he gave a fleeting thought to how familiar the Election Day routine was from his father's races for mayor: Vote. Wait. Fidget. Ask his brother to lead another prayer. The O'Connor family felt a familiar swirl of emotions. 'Sitting in the war room last night, I think we all had those flashbacks,' Mr. O'Connor's brother, Terry, said. 'It was a tough time for us all when my dad died, but it was hard on him. Now, I see a lot of similarities. You look back 20 years and you really see the progression of how he's grown through my dad's death and taken my dad's dream job. Now Corey's grabbing that torch.'
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Tony Moreno wins Republican nomination for Pittsburgh mayor
Tony Moreno has won the Republican nomination in Pittsburgh's mayoral primary. Retired Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno and Pittsburgh business owner Thomas West were on the ballot Tuesday. During a debate that aired on KDKA-TV, Moreno touted his involvement in the city government after spending 24 years inside the police department, while West said he's coming in with a fresh perspective. Moreno runs for mayor again Moreno ran against Gainey in the 2021 primary election as a Democrat and in the 2021 general election as a Republican. When he launched his campaign for this primary, he said he was a Republican who believed in conservative values. "We're talking about the same exact issues we were talking about four years ago, and we demanded change four years ago, and we got more of the same on steroids. That's why I'm here," Moreno said while voting on Tuesday morning. West promised fresh leadership West, who is the owner of the men's clothing boutique Trim in Lawrenceville, campaigned on the promise that he'd bring fresh leadership to move the city forward. "I'm just going to be me. I have a message out there about how to make the city better and how to make us live up to our full potential, so if I become the Republican nominee, that'd be great. And in November, if I win, let's get the party rolling. I love it," West said at a polling place on Tuesday morning. Pittsburgh voters haven't elected a Republican since 1933.
CBS News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pittsburgh's mayoral race headlines primary Election Day in western Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh's hotly-contested mayoral race is in the spotlight as western Pennsylvanians head to the polls to cast their vote in the primary election. In Pittsburgh, incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey and challenger Allegheny County Controller Corey O'Connor are seeking to win the Democratic nomination. Former police officer Tony Moreno and businessman Thomas West are seeking the Republican nomination. The parties' nominees will face off in November. Polls open in Pennsylvania's primary Polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday for Pennsylvania's primary election. Off the bat, Allegheny County reported a "smattering" of issues like power outages, equipment issues and closed buildings that prevented some polling locations from opening on time. By 9:30 a.m., a county spokesperson said everything was resolved. Mt. Rise Baptist Church, a polling place in the Homestead area, was closed a little before noon "out of an abundance of caution" after the judge of elections smelled natural gas, the county said. Voters will be redirected to Holy Angels Church, about 6 minutes away. All 1,327 polling places in Allegheny County will be open until 8 p.m. The County Office Building is accepting mail-in ballots until 8 p.m. at the Ross Street entrance. Pittsburgh's Democratic mayoral candidates cast ballots Ed Gainey is at the end of his first term. He was elected Pittsburgh's first Black mayor after ousting Bill Peduto in the last mayoral primary. Now he's pushing to keep his role as the city's leader. "Building a city for all, you know, delivering affordable housing, 1,600, reducing the homicide rate in the city, the NFL Draft coming here, $600 million for Downtown. We continue to do what we say we're gonna do, and that's build a city where everybody feels seen, and where everybody feels accepted. So we're very excited about this," Gainey said. Corey O'Connor, Gainey's challenger, is the Allegheny County controller. He's looking to fill the role once held by his late father Bob O'Connor. "We have a choice in front of us today. We can take our city in a different direction where we're more transparent, we talk about growth and opportunity in all areas. And, you know, standing here with my family, I think, for me, Pittsburgh should be every family's first choice," O'Connor said. GOP candidates vote in Pittsburgh's mayoral race Tony Moreno is a retired Pittsburgh police officer who ran against Gainey in 2021. "We're talking about the same exact issues we were talking about four years ago, and we demanded change four years ago, and we got more of the same on steroids. That's why I'm here," he said. Thomas West, a businessman who owns the men's retail boutique Trim in Lawrenceville, campaigned on the promise that he'd bring fresh leadership to the city. "I'm just going to be me. I have a message out there about how to make the city better and how to make us live up to our full potential, so if I become the Republican nominee, that'd be great. And in November, if I win, let's get the party rolling. I love it," West said.
CBS News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Watch: Pittsburgh mayoral Republican candidates to hold debate
The Republican candidates for Pittsburgh mayor are debating on KDKA+ Thursday at 7 p.m. You can watch it in the live player above. Tony Moreno is a former police officer who ran for mayor four years ago. Thomas West is a Lawrenceville business owner and former TV producer. The Democratic candidates, incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey and Corey O'Connor, debated on KDKA+ on Wednesday. The two answered questions about public safety, housing, the city's aging emergency vehicle fleet and more. The primary election is set for May 20.
CBS News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Democratic nominees for Pittsburgh Mayor, Ed Gainey and Corey O'Connor to hold mayoral debate tonight
Pittsburgh voters will soon choose the nominees who will run for mayor of the city. There are certain to be a lot of important issues surrounding these candidates, including taxes, zoning changes, public safety, and how to build the city's future. Potholes are one issue in the city that both candidates will be sure to face if elected mayor. "Every year, these potholes come alive when it gets warm," one person told KDKA-TV. Not doing anything permanently to fix these potholes, some of the streets are really bad." Earlier this year, the Democratic nominees, incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O'Connor, participated in a fireside chat and debate to tackle the issues in the city. "We didn't have to raise taxes. We stretched that penny thin. Being in this situation calls for us to make hard choices. We did that. We finished this year with a $4 million surplus," Gainey said. "What happened with that money? You took our public safety and decreased our officers. You did not fill in our officers. Talk about transparency? That's not how you build a city of the future. You are not investing in the future, you're plugging holes to get by during an election season," O'Connor argued. While Gainey and O'Connor are running for mayor on the Democratic ticket, two Republican candidates are also vying for the job. They are Thomas West, a Lawrenceville business owner and former TV producer, and Tony Moreno, a former police officer who ran for mayor four years ago. Tonight, Mayor Gainey and O'Connor will once again face off in a debate, airing right here on KDKA+ at 7 p.m. Then, on Thursday, West and Moreno will hold a debate on KDKA+, also at 7 p.m. The primary election is set for May 20, 2025.
