'You can't stop progress': Black residents see Ed Gainey's win as one for all of Pittsburgh

In 2013, the day after Mayor Bill Peduto was elected in a lopsided general election, Jerome Jackson said he was optimistic.

That optimism came in part from Peduto’s promises to Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. Jackson, the head of the nonprofit Operation Better Block, said at the time that if Peduto didn’t follow through, “it’s probably going to be bad for him.”

More than seven years later, that came to pass in Tuesday’s primary election. Pennsylvania state Rep. Ed Gainey defeated the incumbent Peduto and two other challengers for the Democratic nomination for mayor of Pittsburgh.

“I’m really excited about Gainey,” Jackson said Wednesday.

Jackson, who remains executive director of Operation Better Block, said the failings of the city’s long-touted Land Bank hurt his operation’s initiatives and Homewood as a whole.

“The Land Bank was crucial in our development efforts moving forward,” Jackson said. “It exists, but it’s not an operational entity, and that was supposed to be big for us.”

He said he hopes Gainey’s ties to some of the city’s historically underserved neighborhoods – the Hill District, East Liberty and Lincoln-Lemington, where he currently lives – will put him in a position of truly understanding the neighborhoods’ problems.

There was no Republican challenger on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary. Pittsburgh has not elected a Republican mayor since the 1930s. Gainey is poised to become the city’s first Black mayor.

Jackson’s optimism was shared across Homewood on Wednesday.

Eugene Parker said he went to school with Gainey, and he hopes his former classmate can begin healing a city he says is often divided and plagued by racism. He said Gainey will be a role model for people of color.

“It gives a lot of other men of color initiative,” he said. “He’s showing people of color you can start at the bottom and go up. It’s a good goal for the community.”

Eugene Parker of Homewood said he went to school with Ed Gainey.

“It gives a lot of other men of color initiative. He’s showing people of color you can start at the bottom and go up. It’s a good goal for the community,” Parker said. pic.twitter.com/B7GtGAFft0

— Julia Felton (@JuliaFelton16) May 19, 2021

While Parker said a mayor of any race or ethnicity is bound to make mistakes, he said he believes Gainey “is going to do good.” It’s time for the city to be represented by a person of color, he said.

“We had a Black president, now we have a Black mayor,” he said of Pittsburgh.

Takira Hudson said she hopes Gainey will make good on his promises to make Pittsburgh a city for everyone.

“It brings a good opportunity to the community to make a new beginning, for all of us to come together,” she said.

It’s a sentiment similar to one that has pervaded the Gainey campaign.

“I believe that we can have a city for all,” Gainey told supporters after winning the Democratic nomination. “We will work hard. Not just I as mayor, but we as a community and we as a city will work to build a better city called Pittsburgh for everybody.”

Robert Minniefield of Homewood said he feels the last year – one marked with new pushes for social justice and equity – has set the stage for Pittsburgh to elect its first Black mayor. He said Gainey’s primary win seemed particularly important considering the “hate that is so prevalent within this country.”

“All things considered, I think it’s a great opportunity to see some change,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing for this city. You can’t stop progress.”

Robert Minniefield of Homewood said recent calls for social justice and equity set the stage for Pittsburgh to elect its first Black mayor.

“If he becomes mayor and proves himself to be beyond previous mayors, it’s a good thing for this city, white, Black or otherwise.” pic.twitter.com/CuFUHsuqfP

— Julia Felton (@JuliaFelton16) May 19, 2021

If Gainey does well in his new role, he said, it’s a win for all of Pittsburgh, regardless of race or ethnicity.

“If he becomes mayor and proves himself to be beyond previous mayors, it’s a good thing for this city, white, Black or otherwise,” Minniefield said, noting he’s hopeful that Gainey will focus on things important to the Homewood community, like jobs, housing and infrastructure.

Dwight Dwyer shared a similar sentiment.

“The only thing I can do is pray for God to give him the vision to do the job, to represent the people,” he said. “We need so much help. It doesn’t matter white or Black. It matters if you represent us.”