Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto joins other mayors asking for federal help during pandemic

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto joined mayors from across the country Tuesday in a call for an infusion of federal cash to help local governments deal with financial shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are at a critical juncture as we look into the future of an economic recovery,” Peduto said. “There will be not be a recovery if our cities are left to die.”

The economic strides Pittsburgh has made in the last six years will be erased and $85 million in reserves will be exhausted by the end of the year if federal relief funds aren’t directed to cities, Peduto said.

Such an infusion of cash is lacking in the $1 trillion package unveiled this week by Senate Republicans that has the support of the White House.

It’s the reason Peduto joined Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton, Ohio, Mayor Jeff Williams of Arlington, Texas, and Mayor Van Johnson of Savannah, Ga., in a virtual press conference sponsored by the National League of Cities and United States Conference of Mayors.

The GOP proposal misses the mark, Whaley said.

She’s vice president of the mayors’ conference, a Democrat, and is friends with Peduto.

When mayors first mentioned the financial impacts of the pandemic four months ago, the situation was bad, Whaley said.

“The request was urgent then. It’s dire now,” she said.

It is not a partisan issue, Williams, a Republican, said.

“The virus knows no boundaries,” he said. “Our economies are getting battered by this virus.”

Johnson, a Democrat, noted how in Washington weeks can go by without anything getting accomplished — but in towns and cities across the country, people need help now.

“Every single day matters,” Johnson said. “People need direct federal support now. Not just now, but right now.”

Peduto said he’s lived through Pittsburgh’s decline after the collapse of its industrial economy and has been a part of the city’s attempt to reinvent itself and prosper. But the fiscal fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will take Pittsburgh years to recover from, Peduto said.

Expect more cuts if things don’t change, Peduto said.

Instead of a visit planned for Thursday by Vice President Mike Pence, the region would better be served by financial help, Peduto said.

Pence is scheduled to visit Greensburg in what’s billed as a Cops for Trump rally.

“That visit should come with assurance that cities will have the money to pay police, fire and medics,” Peduto said.