Joseph Sabino Mistick: Pittsburgh picks a mayor

Let’s take a look at what the May 20 race for mayor of Pittsburgh is not about. Some people and groups are seeking to use this election to fight their own battles instead of looking out for what’s best for the people of Pittsburgh.

This election is not about Donald Trump. In the final days of the campaign, one text message dump by a pro-Gainey group said, “Mayor Ed Gainey is standing up to Trump & billionaires trying to buy Pittsburgh’s election on May 20th!”

That’s baloney. When your candidate does not have much of a record of accomplishment to run on, it is standard stuff to run against someone other than your opponent. In this race, Gainey’s campaign is hoping to pick up support by running against Trump instead of Corey O’Connor.

This election is not about the national struggle for control of the Democratic Party between the so-called progressive left and traditional Democrats. Even though it has nothing to do with the people of Pittsburgh, it is tempting to see this race as a test case of the progressive left’s philosophical approach to public service.

But it is not that. It turns out that a mayor’s job is more about governing and less about ideology. Statements of intention and imaginary accomplishments have nothing to do with this scorecard. Mayors are eventually judged on their ability to deliver essential services to their constituents. Ideological mayors have often failed.

This election is not about cozying up to rich developers. Good mayors have always known that developers and the community need each other. There must be mutual respect, if there is to be mutual benefit. And dealing with developers at arm’s length for the good of the city is the responsibility of every big city mayor.

Gainey has tried to create a populist “rich versus poor” stand-off by demonizing developers and denying the legitimacy of their need for a fair profit. That means only one thing: no development. And that kills jobs and the desperately needed increase in tax revenue that would help Pittsburgh pay for essential services for all residents.

This election is also not about a drop in the homicide rate. It is good news that homicides have dropped in Pittsburgh in recent years, but homicide rates have dropped in most major cities across the country for reasons beyond the control of mayors.

The kind of crime that a mayor can reduce is the street crime that is gnawing away at the optimism of our citizens. There is an air of danger in the city, a feeling that it is unsafe in our neighborhoods and in Downtown Pittsburgh. That kind of fear can be reduced by a robust police presence. But Gainey has defunded the police — shrunken the force to record low numbers — as the need for police presence has grown throughout the city.

This is our election. It is about the governance of our city. It is about the future of a city that has overcome great hurdles in the past. It is about who can run the city effectively. It’s about what Pittsburgh needs now.

This election turns on two questions — posed first in ancient times by Aristotle and as old as cities themselves. Am I safe? And am I happy?