Politics

Pittsburgh’s First Mayoral Debate Kicks Off 2025 Race

2 weeks ago
2 Min Read

On Tuesday, the first debate of the 2025 Pittsburgh mayoral race was held outside Tory Hill’s shuttered Cowley Recreation Center. 

Challenger Corey O’Connor used the building behind him as an example of a community resource that current Mayor Ed Gainey has neglected. 

“This is a prime example of failed leadership. Cowley Rec Center should be open. Right now, what we see are broken windows, broken doors. This should be serving families of the North Side and it’s not,” O’Connor said. 

In a recent interview, Gainey said, “We’ve invested a lot in the needs of different neighborhoods to ensure that we are doing what was right.” 

Gainey’s administration provided a fact sheet in response, which said there is a total of $8.6 million set aside in the Capital Improvement Plan for work to rehabilitate the building. O’Connor argued that Gainey had spent money on other areas instead of prioritizing community centers.

He said, “This administration had $350 million of ARP money that wasn’t planned out for a future. You went and spent it all upfront. And what did Pittsburgh get out of it? You don’t have shovel-ready sites… That shows that you don’t have a mayor or an administration that’s actually leading Pittsburgh into the future. And that’s the shame of it.”

O’Connor said that, as mayor, he would open the Cowley center and other similar facilities while extending hours on weekdays and into weekends. He did not specify where the money would come from in the budget.

Gainey said his administration has used federal funding and other revenue to fix and reopen city pools and basketball courts. He added an Education Coordinator and Youth Coordinator position to the mayor’s office and cited after-school programs. He said, “Creating pathways for our young people to prosper is critical to building a thriving Pittsburgh for all. And this work will continue to be a top priority in my second term.”