In a sweeping victory Tuesday night, Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor was elected the 62nd mayor of Pittsburgh.
On The Big K Morning Show, O’Connor says that Pittsburgh is changing in many ways.
“I know the NFL Draft is going to be here before we know it,” said O’Connor. “That gives us 50 million eyes on Pittsburgh that week. So, we have to talk about that, talk about how you can raise your family here and stay here and the opportunities that we have. We have arts, we have culture, we have great neighborhoods and I think that’s our prime opportunity to talk about the new Pittsburgh.”
The mayor-elect reflecting on what it means to follow in his father Bob’s footsteps, two decades after his dad held the same office.
“Growing up in the household, seeing his passion for Pittsburgh, it rubs off on you,” said O’Connor.
He says he was encouraged by the enthusiasm he saw from younger voters at the polls.
“When I went on Pitt’s campus, the Pitt Young Dems were out and about at every poll and they had three volunteers at each one and their numbers were up from what it was in the past,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor thanked his wife Katie, who wrote his victory speech, and showed his appreciation to supporters with traditional “thank you” signs along Forward and Murray Avenues.
Following in his father’s footsteps, O’Connor is part of that “thank you”, waving at cars passing by on Wednesday morning.
And, O'Connor's margin of victory was well above Ed Gainey's win over the same opponent four years.
Political analyst Jon Delano tells Rob Pratte on KDKA that gives the mayor-elect a mandate to do the things that he says he's going to do:
“I think that’s going to put intense pressure on him to come out of the box running, and I mean running fast, focusing on economic development, neighborhood growth, public safety,” said Delano.
He says O'Connor will need to change the perception of Pittsburgh as going downhill, into a city that is on the move again.
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