Category Archives: Local races

Pittsburgh Mayoral Campaign Staffs Fill Out

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Guy Costa

Guy Costa. Photo: Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto announced his new campaign staff Thursday, making him the third mayoral candidate to hire top level staff.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and City Controller and challenger Michael Lamb announced their staffs in December.

Guy Costa will take the reins of Peduto’s bid and Sonya Toler will be Communications Director. Their bios are at the bottom of the story.

Mayor Ravenstahl’s CM is Aletheia Henry, the Pa. state director of President Obama’s campaign. City Controller Lamb’s CM isAnne Batchelder, who worked for the Obama campaign and his Finance Director is Sadie Sterner-Restivo, a veteran fundraiser.

Former Pa. Auditor General Jack Wagner is also reportedly pondering a bid, including possibly as an independent in the general election.

Here are the staff bios, from the Peduto campaign. Guy Costa:

“Has been instrumental in Pittsburgh’s politics and government. He played a critical role in three victorious mayoral races and led Advance Operations teams for three presidential campaigns in Pittsburgh. Guy worked on city and county infrastructure for nearly thirty years under Mayors Murphy, O’Connor and Ravenstahl. As Public Works Director, he oversaw the merger of the former General Services Department and Engineering Department. During his tenure, he revamped refuse collection and cut the number of city vehicles. He helped move the city forward by constructing bike lanes and ensuring that Pittsburgh put on its best face for an international audience during the G20 Summit. And, he did it all while running his department under budget. Most importantly, Pittsburghers knew that they could count on Guy — a tireless worker — day or night.

“Additionally, Guy spent four years running the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. Guy is currently the assistant director of the Allegheny County Economic Development Department. Allegheny County Economic Development (ACED) coordinates development initiatives. They partner with government agencies, community-based organizations, foundations and businesses. As the lead economic and residential development agency for Allegheny County, ACED works on everything from helping residents achieve their dream of home ownership to recycling brownfields. Guy will be taking a leave of absence from ACED to work on the campaign.”

Sonya Toler:

“Is expert in her field — from old media to new; from journalism to government; from writing and planning behind the scenes to being in front of the mic. Sonya got her start in journalism. She spent 21 years in that field working at the New Pittsburgh Courier as news editor, the Pittsburgh Business Times as a staff writer, the Pittsburgh International Airport Magazine as managing editor, and having worked as a freelance reporter and editor. Sonya also was Director of Communications at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

“Sonya spent over five years as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Advisory Commission of African American Affairs during the Rendell Administration. She was the Commonwealth’s advocate on behalf of African Americans. Her responsibilities included serving as a policy advisory to the Governor and assisting individuals wade through the often confusing maze that is state government in areas including, education, housing, business opportunity, economic development, discrimination and health. Most recently, Sonya founded Proclaim Magazine — a digital publication for women in ministry. I am proud to announce we will be bringing Sonya home to lead our Communication efforts.”

Poll: Blue Collar for Ravenstahl, White Collar for Peduto

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Bill Peduto

Bill Peduto

A race between incumbent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and City Councilman Bill Peduto would come down to single digits in a Pittsburgh mayoral primary, according to research by the organization Civic Science.

But the group emphasized that it was not releasing head-to-head numbers for the two candidates, and acknowledged that their data is out of date; a third candidate, City Controller Michael Lamb, entered the race last week.

“The purpose of this analysis was NOT to forecast the election outcome. It’s too early, given that new people are still entering the race,” the group wrote. “All we will say right now is that a hypothetical two-way race between Ravenstahl and Peduto would be close, within single-digit percentage points if the election was held today. There’s also still a large Undecided group, about 19% of voters.”

Civic Science’s methodology is new. They build profiles of individual voters by aggregating online survey responses that they direct. with existing data (voter registration meets internet history).

The data set for this poll includes 1,651 registered Democrats and was collected from Dec. 30 to Jan. 16 (the day before Lamb officially entered the race). Former Pa. Auditor General Jack Wagner is also rumored to be considering a bid.

The organization broke down the Ravenstahl v. Peduto race among a variety of demographic categories, and a few tidbits stand out:

  • Ravenstahl has a clear advantage among voters over age 65 and, oddly, sees strong support among those aged 30 to 34. Peduto, meanwhile, leads handily among respondents under age 30 and has a slight advantage among those aged 35 to 44.
  • Black voters are 20% more likely to vote for Ravenstahl but are also significantly more likely than non-Blacks to be undecided.
  • Education-level is a big dividing point in the race. People with college degrees are almost twice as likely to vote for Peduto. Those with advanced degrees are 71% more likely to vote for Peduto. Conversely, people with a High School or GED-level education are 2.3X more likely to support Ravenstahl. Those with some college but no degree are 72% more likely to support the current Mayor.
  • From an occupational standpoint, Peduto leads by 40% among people in Professional/Managerial jobs and by 4.5X among people in Operations and Sales. People in the service industry are 2 1/2 times more likely to support Ravenstahl. Also, Retirees are 20% more likely and Home Makers a whopping 4X more likely to support Ravenstahl. The ever-important group of “Craftsmen and Laborers” is split dead even, as are people in computer or technical fields.
  • Peduto has 15% greater support among people who expect a worsening job market in the next 6 months and 2X higher support among people who view the current local economy as “Poor.” Those who view the economy as strong support Ravenstahl by more then 2 to 1, while those view it as average are 20% more likely to support the current Mayor.
  • When asked about their favorite pets, the contrast was striking. Cat people are 20% more likely to support Ravenstahl. Dog people are 20% more likely to support Peduto.

See even more analysis here.

Civic Science polled the 2011 Allegheny County Executive race and found Democrat Rich Fitzgerald leading Republican Raja 48 percent to 30 percent (or 62 percent to 38 percent of decided voters). Voters went for Fitzgerald 62 percent to 38 percent on election day four days later.

Hat tip to 2 Political Junkies and Keystone Politics, each of which reported on the survey.

Ravenstahl Maintains Fundraising Lead: $782K on Hand

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Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl started off 2013 with a fundraising lead, his campaign announced Tuesday. He has $781,500 on hand, hundreds of thousands more than his nearest opponent.

“These contributions represent the broad base of support that Mayor has in running for his next term. The Mayor is grateful to his donors and looks forward to engaging with voters through the campaign,” his campaign said in a statement.

That number reflects a 2012 fundraising year worth about $440,000 for the Mayor (he ended 2011 with $342,000 on hand).

His chief opponent, City Councilman Bill Peduto, boasted that while the Mayor had raise more, he had raised faster.

A campaign press release noted that Peduto, “raised $329,671.38, for an average of nearly $110,000 per month – a haul that far outpaces Ravenstahl, who managed to add only $440K to his campaign coffers after an entire year of fundraising.”

Peduto also noted that 89 percent of his donors have not yet given the maximum allowable under campaign finance regulations, and 98 percent of the money he has raised is eligible to be spent in the primary election.

But how much he trails the Mayor is not known: Peduto’s campaign blacked out their cash on hand totals in the finance report cover sheet they sent to the press.

Welcome to the race, Michael Lamb

Michael Lamb

Michael Lamb

Ravenstahl’s edge with cash on hand isn’t his only good news this week. Another candidate is getting into the Democratic mayoral primary and could split the voter of people who oppose the incumbent.

City Controller Michael Lamb will announce his candidacy on Wednesday. He was raised in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He’s kicking off his bid at a coffee shop in Brookline, in the South Hills.

“We can see the promise and perseverance in this city right here in the small businesses in Brookline,” said Lamb. “As a proud, lifelong Pittsburgher, I believe Pittsburgh deserves a Mayor who can build on that promise by leading with competence, hard work, and integrity.”

Former Pa. Auditor General Jack Wagner is also reportedly considering a bid, though he may skip the Democratic primary and opt for a run as an independent in the fall.
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