Rivals O'Connor, Moreno find common ground bashing Gainey during mayoral debate

Pittsburgh mayoral hopefuls Corey O’Connor and Tony Moreno on Tuesday described starkly different approaches to immigration enforcement and other major challenges facing the city.

In a televised debate on KDKA, Moreno suggested he would reverse the city’s current policy of not working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Pittsburgh is not formally designated as a sanctuary city, but outgoing Mayor Ed Gainey has vowed not to cooperate with ICE.

Moreno criticized city leaders for welcoming immigrants and providing them support to find housing or launch businesses.

“We need to take care of the people who are here first,” Moreno said.

O’Connor said he would continue Gainey’s non-cooperation stance. He said he worried people would be wary of calling 911 to report emergencies if they feared the city’s police force was working with ICE.

“I will not partner with organizations like ICE, because for me, we are a welcoming city in the city of Pittsburgh,” O’Connor said.

Moreno, a former Pittsburgh police officer, said police “have to respond” when federal enforcement agencies are in the city. He said the Pittsburgh officers know the city’s neighborhoods and are therefore best positioned to assist ICE.

O’Connor and Moreno agreed the city does not need the National Guard to help curb crime in the city.

President Donald Trump has deployed the guard to Chicago, sparking outrage and litigation. He has threatened increased deployments to mostly Democrat-led cities around the nation to battle what he says is runaway crime despite drops in crime rates.

Voters for Pittsburgh’s next mayor on Nov. 4 will choose between O’Connor, a Democrat and former city councilman who is Allegheny County controller, and Moreno, a Republican.

O’Connor defeated Gainey in the Democratic primary in May. Moreno won the Republican nomination, though the local party has largely refused to support him.

Piling on Gainey

Both candidates bashed Gainey for what they called a lack of transparency and poor financial management.

O’Connor said as mayor he would continue Gainey’s efforts to reduce fatal vehicle crashes.

But he vowed to be more transparent and more focused on growing Pittsburgh to increase revenues for a city facing serious financial pressure.

Moreno similarly said he felt the city was not transparent enough and did not properly prioritize spending.

Both said they wished the federal covid-19 relief money the city received — much of which has already been spent and all of which must be used by the end of 2026 — had been used differently.

“They took that money, that covid money, and completely squandered it,” Moreno said.

Olga George, a Gainey spokesman, declined comment, as did Jake Pawlak, the deputy mayor.

Tax hikes, layoffs?

Neither candidate directly addressed a question about whether they would support tax hikes or layoffs to address the city’s financial struggles.

O’Connor said the city needs to “look at each and every line item” and be honest about how much the city needs to spend on essential expenses, like overtime for police officers.

“We have to be very upfront and transparent,” he said.

Growth, O’Connor said, needs to be a top focus of the new administration to bolster the city’s tax base.

Moreno said the city needs to prioritize public safety when crafting spending plans.

Both agreed nonprofits should chip in with payments in lieu of taxes to relieve some burden on city taxpayers.

Policing matters

Moreno accused O’Connor of defunding the police while a councilman by supporting the city’s Stop the Violence fund, which allocates money to Pittsburgh’s Office of Community Health and Safety and provides grants to outside organizations committed to combating violence.

O’Connor denied the accusation. He pointed out he was on City Council when Pittsburgh secured a site earmarked to become a new public safety training facility in the Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood.

Because Pittsburgh already has gone nearly a year without a permanent police chief, O’Connor vowed finding a new police chief would be his “No. 1 priority.”

If elected, he said, he would announce his pick for chief before being sworn in in January.

Moreno argued his experience as a police officer gave him better insight to choosing who should run the force.

“I’m the only one here that’s experienced enough to pick a chief of police that’s going to keep order, accountability and transparency,” Moreno said.

Boosting Downtown

While the candidates agreed they wanted to see a more vibrant, revitalized Downtown, their approaches varied.

O’Connor said the priority would be to incentivize new businesses and start-up companies — especially technology-focused businesses, like those in the artificial intelligence realm — to move to the Downtown area.

That, he said, would be mixed with housing to attract more people to the city’s Golden Triangle.

But Moreno said the only way to reinvigorate Downtown is to focus first on public safety and reduce the number of people overdosing or experiencing homelessness in the area.

When asked about how to attract families to the city, O’Connor focused on recreation centers, which he said should offer additional programming in the morning and evening, when kids are out of school.

Moreno said the city needs to focus on two areas he believes families think of most when deciding where to raise their kids: safety and schools.

“And we are failing at both,” he said.