Peduto hires ex-Obama administration official as operations chief

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has hired a former Obama administration official to replace Guy Costa as the city’s chief operations officer.

Kinsey Casey, who served in positions at the State Department, White House and Department of Homeland Security, will oversee daily city operations with a focus on coordinating work among departments, including Mobility and Infrastructure and Public Works and affiliates such as the Pittsburgh Parking Authority and Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

Casey, of Shadyside, most recently worked as chief of staff at Emerge America, a national recruitment and training organization for Democratic women interested in running for elected office. From 2015 to 2017, she served as deputy chief of staff for University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. She starts Monday at a budgeted salary of $108,809.

“The city of Pittsburgh is lucky to have someone of Kinsey’s wide knowledge and experience to come on board and help us deliver the highest quality of services to our residents,” Peduto said in a statement.

Casey replaces Guy Costa, of Squirrel Hill, who retired in March after serving 40 years in city and Allegheny County government positions, including more than five as Peduto’s first operations chief.

“It’s not an easy position,” Costa said Thursday, adding that he’s happily retired and working part-time in the facilities department at Duquesne University. “If there’s any way that I can help Kinsey in her new role, I would be glad to assist her.”

During her eight years with the Obama administration, she served as chief of staff in the Office of Global Partnerships at the State Department, national security director for presidential personnel at the White House and lead advance in the Department of Homeland Security.

She’s also worked on political campaigns in New Hampshire, Louisiana and New York. The Montana native has a bachelor’s’s degree in political science and history from Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.