By Jamie Kelly, Bulletin editor
Challenger Corey O’Connor unseated Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey in the Democratic primary on May 20, making him likely to become the city’s next top official.
O’Connor took in 31,254 votes to Gainey’s 27,907.
In the first contested Republican primary for mayor in decades, Tony Moreno beat out Thomas West, garnering 2,865 votes to West’s 1,232.
That sets off a match up between O’Connor, who previously served on Pittsburgh City Council and is currently the Allegheny County Controller, and Moreno, a former police officer who ran as a Democrat in the 2021 primary.
The last Republican elected mayor in Pittsburgh was Charles Kline, who was elected to two terms in 1926 and 1930, and who resigned after a corruption scandal in 1933.
In the primary for the Pittsburgh Public School board of directors, Erikka Grayson bested Tonya Fores 3,695 votes to 1,334 on the Democratic ticket. No Republicans filed for the race.
The primary also set up the fall races for a number of countywide offices, including sheriff and Common Pleas Court judge.
In that race, eight will be on the Democrat ticket “” Amanda Green-Hawkins, Dan Miller, Quita Bridges, Julie Capone, Anthony DeLuca, Heather Schmidt Bresnahan, Jaime Marie Kickton, and Matthew V. Rudzki “” and six on the Republican ticket: Julie Capone, Michele Santicola, Jackie Obara, Sara Terry, Dan Miller and Alyssa Cowan.
In the race for Sheriff, Democrat Kevin M. Kraus will face off against Republican Brian Weismantle.