Pittsburgh City Council candidates face petition challenges

Four residents running as independent candidates for Pittsburgh City Council are due in court Tuesday to defend nominating papers. The hearing will determine whether their names appear on November election ballots.

Several voters are challenging papers filed by Quincy Swatson of East Allegheny, Barbara Daniels of Homewood, B. DeNeice Welch of East Hills and Randall Taylor of East Liberty.

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Joseph James has scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Five council seats are up for grabs this year. The field of candidates breaks down like this:

District 1

Swatson is challenging Democrat Bobby Wilson of Spring Hill, who defeated incumbent Councilwoman Darlene Harris in the primary.

Wilson also faces challenges from Chris Rosselot, who is running as an independent, and Malcolm Jarrett, a member of the Socialist Workers Party. Both live in East Allegheny and will appear on November election ballots.

Three North Side residents have challenged Swatson’s candidacy, alleging he failed to file a required statement of financial interest with the city clerk by Aug. 1, but Swatson said he filed the statement before the deadline.

Swatson described the complaint as “frivolous” and said it was filed by three Rosselot supporters in an attempt to drain campaign funds and knock him out of the race.

“It’s just a political tool that they’re using to suppress candidates from gaining access to the ballot,” Swatson said. “The claims are baseless and they will not win.”

Rosselot, who was disqualified from running for the seat in this year’s Democratic primary because of a problem with his nominating petitions, said he can empathize with Swatson, but rules are rules.

“As candidates we all must meet the requirements necessary to get on the ballot,” he said. “While challenging it helps ensure accountability and maintains the integrity of the process.”

The district includes North Side communities.

District 9

Daniels, Welch and Taylor are challenging Democrat Ricky Burgess, who is seeking re-election.

Complaints filed against them allege Daniels and Welch wrongly switched party affiliations and that Taylor didn’t include enough legitimate signatures on his papers to meet a required minimum of 100.

The three candidates could not be reached for comment.

The district includes East End communities, including Homewood, Lincoln-Lemington and Larimer.

District 3:

Council President Bruce Kraus of South Side, who is seeking re-election, faces a challenge from Jacob Nixon of Oakland. Kraus is a Democrat. Nixon is running as an independent candidate.

The district includes South Side and Oakland neighborhoods.

District 5

Councilman Corey O’Connor of Swisshelm Park, a Democrat, is running unopposed. The district stretches from Squirrel Hill to Hays.

District 7

Councilwoman Deb Gross of Highland Park, a Democrat, is running unopposed. Her district borders the Allegheny River from Highland Park to the Strip District.