Democrats made a clean sweep Tuesday night across three contested Pittsburgh City Council races, handily defeating their Republican opponents.

Voters in the city’s West End neighborhoods, choosing a new council member for the first time since 2010 with the pending retirement of Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, stuck with what they knew.

With all precincts reporting, Kail-Smith’s longtime chief of staff, Kim Salinetro beat Republican Erin Koper with a comfortable margin of thousands of votes, according to unofficial results.

“It feels fantastic,” Salinetro told TribLive. “I don’t know that I ever even thought about how this was going to feel when it was over and I had won.”

Elsewhere in the city, Councilmen Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, and R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District both cruised to victory over their Republican challengers.

Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, was unopposed in seeking another term.

District 2: Kim Salinetro & Erin Koper

Salinetro, 59, of Banksville, is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh’s District 2. She told TribLive she has a unique understanding of residents’ needs after working with Kail-Smith for about 15 years.

Koper, 44, of Elliott, is president of the Allegheny County Council of Republican Women. She drew attention last summer for lambasting Pittsburgh’s democratic leadership at the Republican National Convention.

Salinetro and Koper have both said hiring more police officers and reducing blight would be among their top priorities in office.

Salinetro listed her top priorities as reducing blight and improving public safety. Those were the biggest concerns she heard from constituents on the campaign trail.

“I live here. This is my neighborhood, too,” Salinetro said, thanking voters for trusting her to represent the community.

Koper has not called her to concede.

District 2 includes Banksville, Chartiers City, Crafton Heights, Duquesne Heights, Mount Washington, East Carnegie, Elliott, Fairywood, Oakwood, Ridgemont, South Shore, Sheraden, West End, Windgap and portions of Allentown, Beechview, Brookline, South Side Slopes, Brighton Heights, Chateau and Marshall-Shadeland.

District 4: Anthony Coghill & Tracy Larger

Democratic Councilman Anthony Coghill won with more than 72% of the vote compared to just under 18% for Republican challenger Tracy Larger.

About 10% of ballots in the district were cast for independent or write-in candidates.

Coghill said the Republican and independent candidates who ran against him “worked really hard. He posed for a photo with them earlier in the day.

Coghill said he was eager to return to work for another term.

“I feel like we’re really going to be able to move this city in the right direction,” Coghill said, adding he was eager to work with the new mayoral administration of Corey O’Connor, who will take over from Mayor Ed Gainey. “We have a lot of work to do and a lot of tough decisions to make.”

Larger told TribLive she conceded to Coghill around 10 p.m.

“It was a great experience,” Larger told TribLive. “I knew going in it was an uphill battle.”

Coghill, 59, of Beechview, took his seat on City Council in 2018 and chairs its public safety committee. He also sits on the boards of the Sports & Exhibition and Equipment Leasing authorities. Coghill is a vocal advocate for improving police staffing, being fiscally responsible and upgrading the city’s dilapidated vehicle fleet.

Larger, 59, of Brookline, is an advertising consultant launching her first political campaign. She told TribLive she wants to improve public safety, reduce blight and cut red tape for businesses.

District 4 includes Beechview, Bon Air, Brookline, Carrick, Overbrook and a portion of Mount Washington.

District 6: R. Daniel Lavelle & Jacob Dumont

Democrat R. Daniel Lavelle, who serves as city council president, was headed to a resounding victory with nearly 90% of precincts tabulated.

He had almost 89% of his district’s votes compared to less than 9% for his Republican challenger Jacob Dumont, 33, of Marshall-Shadeland.

Lavelle said he will focus in another term on creating more affordable housing, revitalizing Downtown and redeveloping the Lower Hill District site that once housed the Civic Arena after the Penguins recently lost development rights there.

“While we have some fiscally challenging times ahead of us, the opportunities also are great,” Lavelle told TribLive.

Lavelle, on council since 2010, authored legislation decriminalizing marijuana in Pittsburgh. He also spearheaded the creation of the Housing Opportunity Fund and the Stop the Violence program, which funds the Office of Community Health and Safety and makes grants to independent organizations dedicated to violence prevention.

Dumont operates Northside Action Media, an online platform covering news in the area. He said he would prioritize reopening a grocery store in the Hill District, addressing landslides and curbing blight.

District 6 includes Perry Hilltop, the Hill District, Marshall-Shadeland, Uptown, Downtown, the North Shore, Manchester and California-Kirkbride.

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