Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene Harris reflects on primary loss

Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Darlene Harris was back at work as usual Wednesday morning, one day after losing a primary election to her Spring Hill neighbor, Bobby Wilson.

Harris, 66, the longest serving member of the current council, said she had no regrets about losing the race.

She attributed the loss to strong financial support for Wilson by Mayor Bill Peduto and campaign field workers supplied by Service Employees International Union 32BJ. She said the union provided an army of workers to canvass voters throughout the primary.

“This is the third time the mayor ran Mr. Wilson,” Harris said. “The SEIU brought their people out strong.”

Wilson won the election with 2,522 votes to Harris’ 1,443, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. It was Wilson’s third time running against Harris in consecutive primary elections. He faces potential challengers in November from North Side residents Chris Rosselot and Quincy Swatson, who have vowed to run for the District 1 council seat as independent candidates.

Wilson said multiple factors, including union and mayoral support, led to his victory.

“We did a lot of door knocking,” he said. “We made a lot of contact with voters. We really made sure we ran a good race.”

Sam Williamson, the Western Pennsylvania district director for SEIU 32BJ, said members felt Wilson would best represent them.

“It’s true. Our members did a lot for Bobby, knocked on thousands and thousands of doors, and we were pretty happy with the outcome last night,” he said.

Peduto could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Wilson ran on promises of transparency and an open door for all North Side residents. He vowed to collaborate with Peduto and other members of council, an obvious reference to Harris’ long-running political feuds with the mayor and council President Bruce Kraus.

Harris supporters noted that Peduto supported Wilson, even though Harris was endorsed by the Allegheny County Democratic Committee. They said young North Side voters unfamiliar with Harris’ record of constituent services made a difference in the race.

“People can say what they want, but she did a lot of good stuff for the North Side,” said Kevin Quigley, who chairs the Pittsburgh Democratic Committee. “There was a concerted effort to get young voters to come out and vote. There’s a lot of young residents, and they might not understand a lot of what Darlene has done for the North Side.”

Harris was first elected to council during a special election 2006 and was subsequently re-elected to three four-year terms. She served as council president for four years.

She said she thought about retiring at the end of her current term in December. She decided to run again because she felt it would be better to keep busy after the death of her mother late last year.

“I don’t know what I’ll do next, whether I’ll retire or become an activist,” she said. “I’m here until the end of the year. I will just go out and do what I do best until the end of the year.”