Greenfield woman looks to replace Corey O'Connor on Pittsburgh City Council

A special election will determine a replacement for Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor, who stepped down to become Allegheny County Controller.

O’Connor officially resigned from City Council on Sunday. O’Connor — the son of former Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor, who died months after being inaugurated in 2006 — had served on City Council since 2012.

He replaces Chelsea Wager as county controller. She was elected as an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge.

No date has been set for a special election to fill the vacant council seat for a district that includes Squirrel Hill South, Regent Square, Swisshelm Park, Greenfield, Hazelwood, Glen Hazel, Hays, Lincoln Place and New Homestead.

According to city code, the city clerk will formally order the election. If the clerk calls for an election between 6o and 120 days from the date of the next general election — which is the case in this situation — it will likely fall on the date of the general election.

Monday marked 120 days until the November general election.

The city clerk’s office did not immediately respond to a request for more information regarding the special election date.

A Greenfield resident has already announced her intention to run for the seat.

Barb Warwick, 45, a Democrat, said she became involved in the community when she was fighting against the Mon-Oakland Connector. Mayor Ed Gainey scrapped the project’s shuttle program in February. From there, Warwick said, she became increasingly involved in her community until she decided she wanted to run for office.

“I’m very much a grassroots, community-based candidate,” she said. “I have not worked in city government before. The perspective I bring is that of a resident. I like to help people. That’s what I want to do in terms of City Council.”

Warwick said her main priorities would include street safety, public safety and reliable communication between her office and the residents she would represent.

“District 5 is kind of like a microcosm of the whole city — you have some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in the city of Pittsburgh, and some of the poorest, most vulnerable people, and everything in between,” she said, explaining that she would aim to hear from people of all backgrounds.

That is particularly true, she said, when it comes to large developments such as the Hazelwood Green project that is in its early stages.

“The concern is that Hazelwood is going to be the next frontier for gentrification in Pittsburgh,” Warwick said. “Right now, we’re at the very beginning of this project. There’s huge potential for this project to do good. But at the same time, as with any development project, there’s also the possibility for it to fall flat on these promises of equity and inclusion. I want to make sure that as this development moves forward — and other developments around it move forward — that there’s real community engagement and that the things the community are looking for are incorporated.”