Jake Pawlak to lead Pittsburgh's Office of Management and Budget

Pittsburgh City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the appointment of Jake Pawlak as director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Mayor Ed Gainey has said he also will appoint Pawlak as deputy mayor.

Pawlak, who served as the new mayor’s transition director, is the first Gainey appointee to earn City Council’s approval.

Pawlak, 34, of Highland Park, previously served as the program director for the Pennsylvania Alliance Foundation. He also has held roles with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

“I, as a lifelong Pittsburgher, am deeply proud and honored to have been nominated by Mayor Gainey,” Pawlak said last week during an interview with City Council.

City Council members said they appreciated his efforts to communicate with them from the early days of the administration, including during snow storms that required days of clean up.

“We’ve had a very rough start here with the snow, and I want to personally thank you for responding,” Council President Theresa Kail-Smith told Pawlak during his interview. “I just want to thank you for promptly answering and giving members updates constantly.”

Councilman Ricky Burgess on Tuesday said he thinks Pawlak “brings an unusual breadth of experience and capacity.”

Gainey has nominated several other people to posts in his administration and they are awaiting City Council approval.