Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto announced the hiring of five new members of his 2021 reelection campaign on Tuesday. 

“This team has some of the most impressive staffers in Western PA”, said Peduto. “This is the team that will help us build the bridge to a better Pittsburgh, and I’m excited to have them on board”.

Schuyler Sheaffer, who managed state Rep. Emily Kinkead’s 2020 primary victory over incumbent Rep. Adam Ravenstahl, will be the campaign manager for Peduto. Previous stops for Sheaffer also include managing Pittsburgh Councilman Bobby Wilson’s successful primary against incumbent Darlene Harris in 2019, managing House Minority Leader Frank Dermody’s 2020 race, plus working on Erika Strassburger’s successful bid for Pittsburgh City Council in 2018.

Julie Halinan, who served on Peduto’s successful 2017 reelection campaign, is returning as the Finance Director for the 2021 campaign. She served as Rep. Conor Lamb’s campaign’s finance director during his successful 2020 re-election bid and successful 2018 special election campaign. She’s also served as the Finance Director for state Rep. Austin Davis. 

Matt Harrison, who served as the Deputy Operations Director for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Nevada, will serve as the Communications Director for the campaign. Previous positions for Harrison also include Senior Director of Iowa Operations for Pete Buttigieg, plus working at NextGen Pennsylvania. 

Quadirah Taylor, who recently worked for ACORN in Georgia during the U.S. Senate runoff, will serve as the campaign’s Field Director. She’s also previously worked for Working America, Ed Gainey, OnePittsburgh, Dan Onorato’s campaign for governor, and Tom Wolf.

Ben Forstate, who recently worked as the Field and Data Director for Marco Attisano’s campaign for state Rep, will serve as the Data Director for the Peduto campaign. He’s worked as a data organizer for PA United, For Our Future PA, and Betsey Monroe and is also known for being an independent political analyst that tracks Pennsylvania’s changing political geography using maps. 

Peduto, who is seeking a third term in office, is set to face at least one primary challenger. State Rep. Ed Gainey (D-Allegheny) formally announced his entrance into the race on Tuesday evening.