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Mayoral election in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2021)

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2021 Pittsburgh elections
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Election dates
Filing deadline: March 9, 2021
Primary election: May 18, 2021
General election: November 2, 2021
Election stats
Offices up: Mayor
Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections)
Election type: Partisan
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2021

The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, held a general election for mayor on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for May 18, 2021. The filing deadline for this election was March 9, 2021.

This page covers the general election for mayor. For more on the Democratic primary, click here.

Candidates and results

General election

General election for Mayor of Pittsburgh

Edward Gainey defeated Tony Moreno in the general election for Mayor of Pittsburgh on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Edward Gainey
Edward Gainey (D)
 
70.8
 
50,165
Image of Tony Moreno
Tony Moreno (R)
 
28.4
 
20,162
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.8
 
558

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 70,885
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Mayor of Pittsburgh

Edward Gainey defeated incumbent Bill Peduto, Tony Moreno, and Michael Thompson in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Pittsburgh on May 18, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Edward Gainey
Edward Gainey
 
46.4
 
26,479
Image of Bill Peduto
Bill Peduto
 
39.2
 
22,406
Image of Tony Moreno
Tony Moreno
 
13.0
 
7,442
Image of Michael Thompson
Michael Thompson
 
1.2
 
680
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
117

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 57,124
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Mayor of Pittsburgh

Tony Moreno defeated incumbent Bill Peduto in the Republican primary for Mayor of Pittsburgh on May 18, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tony Moreno
Tony Moreno (Write-in)
 
36.1
 
1,379
Image of Bill Peduto
Bill Peduto (Write-in)
 
7.5
 
285
 Other/Write-in votes
 
56.4
 
2,151

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,815
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff compiled a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[1]


Edward Gainey

Edward Gainey

Image of Edward Gainey

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

  • Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 24 (assumed office: 2013)

Biography:  Gainey graduated from Morgan State University with a bachelor's degree in business management in 1994. After that, worked as the community development specialist for the city of Pittsburgh, before winning election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2012. In 2010, he served as chairman of the Pittsburgh City Democratic Committee.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Gainey discussed community safety and police reform, saying he wants to the city a place "where no one lives in fear of crime or of the police." He said he would redirect resources from militarized equipment to community policing strategies and make it easier for the city to discipline or fire police officers when necessary. 

Gainey said said he would push the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) to pay higher taxes and require companies and developers that accept public subsidies to pay into a fund for workforce development. He said he would also focus on creating new opportunities in the city government's workforce for residents from all neighborhoods and background. 

Gainey talked about affordable housing, saying he would "make good on the promise to unify our city, put resources into all of our neighborhoods, and invest in housing every Pittsburgher can afford." 

Show sources

Sources: Gainey for Mayor, "Priorities," accessed May 3, 2021; Gainey for Mayor, "Meet Ed", accessed May 3, 2021; PA House, "Rep. Edward C. Gainey," accessed May 3, 2021

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Pittsburgh in 2021.

Tony Moreno

Tony Moreno

Image of Tony Moreno

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  Moreno was born in California. He enlisted in the United States Army at 17 and deployed twice. He attended police academy in Ohio, and joined the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in 1994, where he worked for 24 years. In 2018, he completed the process of becoming a Private Detective in Allegheny County and started his own polygraph business.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Moreno said he will focus on public infrastructure, including snow removal and waste management. He said he will "will direct DPW to install greater numbers of waste receptacles throughout the city to encourage residents and visitors to keep Pittsburgh clean, while also mandating weekly recycling pickup citywide."

Moreno said that because of his time as a police officer, he "knows what it takes to build the public’s trust in its law enforcement." He said he will put in place community policing programs based on crisis intervention training he developed and change the hiring process to recruit more diverse candidates for law enforcement. 

Moreno said he will "build a culture of transparency and accountability in city leadership and actively engage community stakeholders to develop smarter and more impactful policies." He said will conduct a review of the Park Tax and call for a new vote on the policy. 

Show sources

Sources: Real Steel Mayor, "TONY'S PLAN," accessed May 4, 2021; Real Steel Mayor, "TONY'S BIOGRAPHY," accessed May 4, 2021; The One World Blue Network, "MEET PITTSBURGH MAYORAL CANDIDATE, TONY MORENO," accessed May 4, 2021

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Pittsburgh in 2021.

Mayoral partisanship

See also: Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2021)

Mayoral elections were held in 28 of the 100 largest U.S. cities in 2021. Once mayors elected in 2021 assumed office, the mayors of 64 of the country's 100 largest cities were affiliated with the Democratic Party.

The following top-100 mayoral offices changed partisan control in 2021:

What was at stake?

Report a story for this election

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Candidate survey

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Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2021

What's on your ballot?
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May 18, 2021
November 2, 2021

About the city

See also: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. As of 2020, its population was 302,971.

City government

See also: Mayor-council government

The city of Pittsburgh uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[3]

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Population 302,971 13,002,700
Land area (sq mi) 55 44,741
Race and ethnicity**
White 66.4% 79.4%
Black/African American 23% 11.1%
Asian 5.8% 3.5%
Native American 0.2% 0.2%
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0%
Other (single race) 1% 2.4%
Multiple 3.6% 3.4%
Hispanic/Latino 3.4% 7.6%
Education
High school graduation rate 93.2% 91%
College graduation rate 45.4% 32.3%
Income
Median household income $50,536 $63,627
Persons below poverty level 19.7% 12%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Municipal government Other local coverage
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  2. ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee says he’s becoming a Republican," April 6, 2021
  3. ↑ Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter, "What is home rule?" accessed October 27, 2014
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