Pittsburgh Elects New Mayor: Change Afoot For City

PITTSBURGH, PA —City voters have elected Pittsburgh's next mayor. Democrat Corey O'Connor had a landslide victory over Republican Tony Moreno.

O'Connor is the Allegheny County controller; Moreno is a retired city police officer.

With 399 of 402 precincts reporting, O'Connor received 79,651 votes to Moreno's 11,417.

"I want to thank you, the people of Pittsburgh. This victory belongs to you," O'Connor said at a victory party Tuesday night in the South Side. "No matter who you supported tonight, we are united in the fight for a safer, more transparent, more robust city."

O'Connor had been the prohibitive favorite in the race, as the city has an overwhelming Democratic registration edge and has not elected a Republican mayor in nearly a century. O'Connor, who defeated incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey in the Democratic primary in May, also has enjoyed a huge fundraising edge over his opponent.

O'Connor has been Allegheny County controller since July 2022 after being nominated by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and confirmed by the state Senate. He was elected to his first full term in November 2023.

Prior to becoming controller, O'Connor represented Pittsburgh City Council District 5 in the East End for a decade. Before being elected to council, he was a community development representative for former U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle.

O'Connor's father, Bob O'Connor, was a longtime city councilman who served nine months as Pittsburgh's mayor in 2006 before dying from a rare form of brain cancer.

"I’m ready on day one to be a mayor for everyone," O'Connor recently told the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh.

"Residents’ concerns and priorities will be my concerns and my priorities. I’m going to taketheir quality of life concerns seriously and treat them as a real priority, not an afterthought. We need a government that’s able to effectively and consistently deliver its core services because everyone in Pittsburgh deserves better."

Moreno, an airborne combat veteran and retired 24-year police detective, has said he lives his life in service to the country and city.

"I have spent time in all 90 neighborhoods of our city and I have a unique understanding of our diversity," he told the League of Women Voters.

"I navigated the city’s policies and budgets while fighting for the rights of union members, residence and businesses in Pittsburgh. During the incredible growth downtown from 2009-2015, I successfully managed the issues of homelessness, mental illness and addiction."