Fetterman says he supports Gainey's efforts to address problems in Downtown Pittsburgh

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Friday he supports Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s efforts to tackle problems that Downtown has faced since the pandemic.

Fetterman, speaking with the Tribune-Review after a service workers’ conference at the DoubleTree Hotel in Downtown, said he backs Gainey’s efforts to address public safety, combat vagrancy and get more office workers to return to the central business district.

“If we are invited or asked to get involved more, I want to get involved as much as Mayor Gainey would like to have me,” Fetterman said.

In speaking with the Tribune-Review, Fetterman used a closed-captioning app so he could read questions as they were being spoken. Fetterman has auditory processing issues as the result of a stroke he had in 2022.

Fetterman offered an optimistic view of the future of Downtown. Noting that he thinks office workers will continue to return Downtown and people are still recovering mentally from the pandemic, he said, “I think it is going to take some time for us to get back to being 100% again.”

An August report from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership said the neighborhood has recovered nearly all of its visitors compared to before the pandemic, but just 63% of office workers have returned Downtown.

Also during his stop, Fetterman threw his political support behind Matt Dugan, the Democratic candidate for Allegheny County district attorney, and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale.

Dugan, of Moon, is facing incumbent District Attorney Stephen Zappala in November. Zappala lost in the Democrat primary, but received enough Republican write-in votes to run as the GOP nominee in the General Election.

Fetterman said he believes it is time for a change in the DA’s office. Zappala has served as DA for about a quarter-century.

“It is time to turn the page,” he said.

Fetterman said Zappala always opposed his pardon requests when Fetterman was Pennsylvania lieutenant governor. He said he thinks the county’s top prosecutor should be a good partner with local police, be smart on crime and be generous on mercy.

Fetterman also recently joined the host committee for Lee’s reelection campaign. Lee is rumored to be attracting Democratic primary opponents and has already garnered a Republican challenger.

“It was an easy choice to endorse and support her,” Fetterman said. “Her history and her roots in the district are strong. She is intensely popular, and she always runs incredibly smart and hard campaigns.”