Tony Moreno re-enters Pittsburgh mayoral race as Republican

Retired Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno announced Tuesday that he will run for mayor as a Republican in the November election.

“I made a promise in the very beginning that I would not get out of this race until I was voted out,” Moreno said. “I won’t get out.”

Moreno, 52, of Brighton Heights came in a distant third in the Democratic primary, getting 13% of the vote as state Rep. Ed Gainey defeated incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto, denying the mayor a third term in office.

“Rep. Gainey welcomes Mr. Moreno to the race, and looks forward to a positive general election campaign in which he’ll continue to talk about his vision for uniting our city and building a Pittsburgh for all,” Gainey campaign spokeswoman Tené Croom said.

Moreno received 1,379 Republican write-in votes, well above the 250-vote threshold to gain the nomination as a Republican.

“I changed my registration as a ceremonial gesture,” he said. “My message doesn’t change, 90 neighborhoods make one Pittsburgh. It’s just a natural fit. There’s a fight to save Pittsburgh and I’m in it.”

Former Detective Tony Moreno “(the political banner I’m running under doesn’t change who I am)” Announced his intentions to run as the Republican candidate in Pittsburgh’s mayoral general election pic.twitter.com/MZObVZVhX2

— Zac Gibson (@okzacgibson) June 29, 2021

He acknowledged the challenge he faces running as a Republican in heavily-Democratic Pittsburgh, where a Republican hasn’t served as mayor since the 1930s.

“I’ve been the underdog since I started this,” Moreno said.

He’s met with Allegheny County Republican Committee Chair Sam DeMarco and will be campaigning with GOP support.

DeMarco didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday, but has previously said having Moreno in the race for the general election would give voters a choice in the fall.

“People are ready for a change,” Moreno said. “I’m going to make Pittsburgh a better place.”

He used an alleyway behind Race Street in the city’s largely-Black Homewood neighborhood to make the announcement.

There, he spoke about the sewage problems 66-year-old Tanya McClendon-Todd has faced since 2017. At that time, her sewage lateral pipe became blocked after a sinkhole issue in the alley behind the home she was born and raised in.

McClendon-Todd has struggled with the bureaucracies of Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and the Allegheny County Health Department to try to come up with repairs that plumbers told her would require $28,000 in work.

It’s money she doesn’t have, and she’s been living in her home without hot water, pumping out the sewage that backs up into her basement with a sump pump.

“It’s embarrassing, but it’s not my fault,” she told the Tribune-Review in a June 3 interview.

Because the problem is on a lateral line, she was told it was her responsibility.

When Moreno found out about the issue, he said he “started reaching out to people.”

He said he contacted Pittsburgh-based reporter Marty Griffin and they found a plumber who was willing to do the work because “nobody should have to live like this.”

“That’s how you make it happen,” Moreno said. “You don’t say you can’t, you do it.”

McClendon-Todd’s issues point the the overall problems the city is facing, Moreno said.

“This is the breakdown of government I’m talking about,” he said. “This is why I have to be elected: To get things done.”

City residents now have a real choice in the fall, Moreno said.

He likened himself to being a “protector” of the city’s residents.

Gainey, 51, of Lincoln Lemington, is in his fifth term representing the 24th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Before that, he was a legislative aide to longtime state Rep. Joseph Preston Jr. of East Liberty.

He went on to run against Preston three times for the seat, prevailing in 2012. Before winning the House seat, Gainey was a community development specialist for former Pittsburgh mayors Tom Murphy and Luke Ravenstahl.

If elected, Gainey would be the city’s first Black mayor.

Marlin Woods, 48, of East Liberty, a benefits consultant, is also running as an independent for mayor.

Woods announced his candidacy June 10. He has until Aug. 2 to file nomination papers that include at least 1,167 residents, which is equivalent to 2% of the highest vote cast in the last citywide election, according to state election rules.

Staff writer Zachary Gibson contributed to this report.