Pittsburgh council members sworn in, promise collaboration with new mayor

Pittsburgh City Council members Theresa Kail-Smith, R. Daniel Lavelle, Erika Strassburger and Anthony Coghill were sworn in Monday after winning reelection in November.

Coghill handily defeated Green Party challenger Connor Mulvaney to earn his second term. Kail-Smith, Lavelle and Strassburger ran unopposed.

Council members unanimously voted to elect Kail-Smith to serve her second term as council president. Councilman Ricky Burgess was unanimously reelected to serve as president pro tempore.

“I thank God every day for this opportunity to serve this city and our residents,” Kail-Smith said. “I’m looking forward to working together. I’m looking forward to a bright Pittsburgh.”

Hours before he is inaugurated as mayor, Ed Gainey addresses City Council during their swearing-in ceremony. pic.twitter.com/b0aGPD43Qq

— Julia Felton (@JuliaFelton16) January 3, 2022

Mayor-elect Ed Gainey, hours away from his own inauguration, joined council members for their swearing-in ceremony.

“When you win, it’s not just that you win — it’s that your district wins,” he told the reelected council members. “Because it’s a statement about how your district feels about you.”

He said local leaders should look at the issues and problems in the city as places where they can make a difference.

“If we didn’t have disparity, we wouldn’t have opportunity. And the fact that we have opportunity to build the best out of each one of your districts, that speaks about a relationship of building bridges throughout this region that doesn’t just help a district, but helps the overall city of Pittsburgh,” Gainey said, vowing to work with members of council and other local officials.

Strassburger said she sees this time as one ripe with opportunity to improve the city.

“We are in the midst of a history-making moment,” she said.

She promised to work with local leaders, residents, community leaders, activists and business owners to focus on big-picture goals — like reimagining public safety, creating an equitable workforce and tackling environmental issues. Nothing will get accomplished, she said, without collaboration among elected officials and their constituents.

Coghill — whose reelection campaign focused on finishing promises he had made to revamp his district’s infrastructure — said he’s grateful for another opportunity to finish what he started over the past four years.

“I looked at (my council) district like I look at a house,” said Coghill, a contractor. “I wanted to rebuild it.”

Coghill said he’s eager to do more in collaboration with other members of council and the incoming administration.

Lavelle said Gainey’s campaign promises — promises to reimagine policing, bring more affordable housing and promote diversity — can be achieved in partnership with the city’s legislative body. Together with council, Lavelle said, he believes the incoming mayor can “really create the city for all that you’ve articulated.”

The swearing-in ceremony included the Pledge of Allegiance recited by Lavelle’s third-grade son Robert Elijah Riley Lavelle, a color guard presentation from the ROTC cadets of the Three Rivers Battalion at the University of Pittsburgh and blessings from the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Bishop David Zubik.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald also attended, offering a strengthened collaboration between city and county governments.

“These challenging times give us new opportunities,” he said, promising to work with City Council and Gainey on issues like equity in housing, education and employment.