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Ed Gainey is fighting to
Keep Pittsburgh Home

Homes for People, NOT for Profit

 Out-of-town investors are buying up a huge part of our housing supply — in 2021, they represented 25% of housing transactions

These investors buy houses and convert them to investment properties, often short-term rentals like Airbnb’s.

FACT: There are over 4,000 short-term rentals in Pittsburgh.
80% of them are run by absentee landlords

This process destroys generational wealth, removes stable housing from our communities, and drives up housing prices for everyone. These are properties that should be housing our community members.

Ed Gainey's Solution:
The Keep Pittsburgh Home Plan

This will include efforts to stop speculation and predatory practices in our housing market and curb the influence of private equity investors and predatory wholesalers on our housing prices.

We will protect renters, support first-time homeowners, invest in and improve public housing, regulate short-term rentals, and combat out-of-town investors.

The Keep Pittsburgh Home Plan will unlock thousands of homes, help stabilize rents, and ensure that our neighborhoods are for people, not profit.

Together. we will fight to Keep Pittsburgh Home

PRIORITIES

As Mayor, Ed Gainey is transforming Pittsburgh to make it work for regular people, not the rich and powerful. He’s taken on serious fights against union busters, corporate interests, luxury housing developers, and others trying to make Pittsburgh more expensive to live in.

Housing & Homelessness

Mayor Gainey has delivered on his promise to make Pittsburgh a place everyone can afford, by building affordable housing, creating pathways to home ownership for working families, ensuring safe living conditions for renters, and working to end homelessness and get unhoused people indoors.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Approved or completed construction on thousands of affordable housing units.
Driven down housing costs by securing $600 million, in partnership with Gov. Josh Shapiro, to build approximately a thousand new units of housing in downtown Pittsburgh, 30% of which will be affordable housing.
Secured an unprecedented 12 competitive Low-Income Housing Tax Credit awards which will create or preserve hundreds of housing units, providing affordable housing to the people who need it most.
Cut red tape by eliminating steps in the permitting process, allowing builders to deal with one agency instead of three, making it faster and simpler to build new housing.
Addressed blight and vacant properties by securing the sale or pending sale of over 150 properties from the city’s land bank, which helps acquire, manage, maintain, and move abandoned properties to buyers. From 2014 until Mayor Gainey took over in 2021, the land bank moved zero properties.
Helped 150 low- and moderate-income Pittsburghers purchase homes through OwnPGH, the city’s program to provide assistance to first-time home buyers.
Relaunched a rental registry to ensure safe and adequate living conditions for renters.
Secured a $30 million bond for affordable housing, the first of its kind in Pittsburgh. This will allow the city to produce or preserve an additional 1,000 units of affordable housing over the next three years.
Made space for all unhoused people to come indoors by moving people currently in shelter to transitional, supported, and subsidized housing by expanding “next homes” for unhoused people.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Cut Pittsburgh’s affordable housing deficit in half.
End chronic homelessness in Pittsburgh by working with the County to create a place for every person experiencing homelessness, ranging from temporary shelter to permanent housing.
Expand inclusionary zoning city-wide, ensuring that all new housing developments include a certain number of rent-controlled units.
Use government resources to solve the housing crisis without having to rely on landlords and for-profit corporate developers.
Issue a second affordable housing bond to continue the historic levels of investment into the production and preservation of affordable housing across the city.
Reverse the loss of 700 Black homeowners over the last decade.
Launch a second iteration of the OwnPGH program to build a new generation of homeowners.

Public Safety

When Mayor Gainey took office, he pledged to institute public health and community-led safety strategies to make Pittsburgh a safe city where no one lives in fear of crime or police violence. Shootings and homicides had jumped 46% in the year before Mayor Gainey took office, and only half of Pittsburgh residents felt their neighborhood was adequately policed.

Mayor Gainey made government work and made our communities safer: since he took office, homicides have fallen by 33% and non-fatal shootings have dropped by 44%.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Made communities safer by reducing the burden on police and combating the root causes of crime, resulting in a 33% drop in homicides and 44% drop in non-fatal shootings.
Established a special police detail to patrol Downtown and engage with residents, business owners, and the community.
Reached the city’s first police union contract in 20 years through negotiation and not arbitration. The contract will help recruit and retain officers, civilianize non-essential police functions, and hold police officers more accountable.
Hired the city’s first unarmed community service aides responsible for responding quickly to non-violent situations like parking violations, property theft reports, and wellness checks.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Continue to hire civilian staff to the police department, letting police focus on violent crime and issues that only uniformed officers can handle, while allowing social workers and unarmed personnel to handle the rest.
Continue to recruit more Black residents into the city’s Public Safety department, so our public agencies look like the people they represent.
Put community responders in place to assist frequent users of emergency services and avoid a tragedy before it happens, while providing counseling to victims, families, and communities affected by violence.
Hire violence interrupters who work directly with people at risk of committing or falling victim to gun violence.

Economic Development & REVITALIZATION

Since 2021, Mayor Gainey has fought to bring funding and investment to the city, grow our economy, and make Pittsburgh a city where everyone can truly thrive.

Mayor Gainey has secured over $328 million in state and federal funding, building intergovernmental relationships that support affordable housing, Pittsburgh’s workforce hub, infrastructure, youth opportunities, and public safety.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Delivered over $300 million in new state and federal funding to invest in programs like affordable housing, a workforce hub, infrastructure, youth opportunities, and public safety. 
Worked with Governor Josh Shapiro to deliver $600 million to reinvest in Downtown Pittsburgh, which will create approximately a thousand new units of housing, 30% of which will be affordable housing; remake public spaces like Market Square and Point State Park; and create a new public space in the Cultural District.
Secured the first-ever commitment from Highmark to make a financial contribution to the city — while holding UPMC accountable to Pittsburgh patients, workers, and taxpayers.
Unrigged the rules for City contracts, increasing disadvantaged business participation by 35% and awarding the first city contract to an LGBTQIA+ vendor.
Won the bid Pittsburgh the host of the 2026 NFL Draft, which will bring jobs, investment, tourism, and hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Leverage relationships with state and federal lawmakers and agencies to continue delivering investments to help working people in Pittsburgh.
Continue efforts to transform Downtown into a mixed-use, mixed-income, 24/7 neighborhood.
Continue the fight – at the negotiating table and in court – to ensure that the major non-profits that dominate our economy pay their fair share.
Provide career opportunities for every young graduate who wants to stay in Pittsburgh through partnerships with PPS, Partner4Work, and regional employers.
Complete a regional disparity study to set more aggressive goals for disadvantaged business participation in city contracts.
Overhaul City contracting practices to make the process faster and more fair.

Workers, Unions, & Jobs

Mayor Gainey is a champion for labor unions and working people. He will always stand up for workers fighting for the pay and benefits they deserve. Mayor Gainey has taken on big corporations and powerful special interests to help Pittsburgh residents and workers, marching on picket lines and rallying with Steelworkers, healthcare workers, and food service workers to make sure corporations give them what they deserve.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Supported Pittsburgh workers and labor unions by standing with striking workers on picket lines across the city.
Developed a program to address the needs of Pittsburgh’s disadvantaged workers. Workers will now have a chance to receive help with employment hurdles like finding childcare, learning jobsite culture, and securing transportation to and from work.
Secured a regional workforce equity agreement, ensuring that contractors, vendors, and organizations doing work with the city create good-paying jobs for the people who need them most.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Continue to work with state, federal, and regional allies to bring good-paying jobs and investment to the city.
Support organized labor and union workers, using the Mayor’s office to expand and protect union rights and make it easier for more people to join a union.
Sanction vendors doing business with the city that break labor laws, discriminate against people while hiring, or pay substandard wages.
Expand pre-apprenticeship programs so they are available to residents in every neighborhood.

INFRASTRUCTURE & PEDESTRIAN SAFETY

In 2022, after the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, Mayor Gainey’s administration doubled down on infrastructure development, making life easier, safer, and more efficient for Pittsburgh residents who drive, bike, walk, or take public transportation. When Mayor Gainey entered office, he pledged to make Pittsburgh a city that prioritizes traffic safety and accessibility, keeping everyone safe in their travel.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Reopened the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge in less than a year.
Ensured the city’s bridges are safe by achieving zero open bridges in failing condition and creating a plan to have every single bridge in good repair.
Tripled bridge maintenance funding compared to prior years.
Increased funding to repave roads.
Helped secure an historic investment to reconnect the Chateau and Manchester neighborhoods, separated by Route 65 since the late 1960s, driving small business development, employment, and economic opportunity.
Launched Vision Zero to maximize safety for everyone who uses our roadways, with the goal of zero fatal crashes or serious injuries. 
Expanded deployment of traffic reduction measures, bike and pedestrian lanes, and sidewalk repairs.
More than doubled funding for traffic calming projects, enhancing the safety of neighborhood streets by slowing down traffic and improving resources for pedestrians and cyclists.
Partnered with federal lawmakers and Governor Josh Shapiro to secure over $140 million to ease traffic on the city’s Parkway East.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Bring all city-owned bridges up to a safety rating of satisfactory or better.
Continue to secure investments in the city’s infrastructure to improve roads, bridges, public transit, and other utilities.
Establish a transportation management center to control traffic flow and promote safety on our streets.
Deploy smart infrastructure to improve the high-risk parts of our transit system.

CLIMATE RESILIENCe:

When Mayor Gainey took office, he pledged to make Pittsburgh a city that prioritizes environmental health and provides clean air and water to its residents. In 2021 prior to Mayor Gainey’s election, all energy for City facilities came from fossil fuels. Four years into the Mayor’s administration, he has cut that percentage nearly in half.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Shifted 40% of total electricity for city facilities to wind, decreasing dependency on fossil fuels.
Invested in electrifying the city’s fleet.
Committed to the Climate Action Plan Goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. 
Secured over $2 million for public electric vehicle charging within the city of Pittsburgh and ensured an equitable distribution across the city. 
Led the campaign for Pittsburgh to be selected as one of 25 cities for the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities program, designed to drive progress on clean energy job creation, climate resiliency, and clean air and water for working class communities and communities of color.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Supercharge Pittsburgh’s position in clean energy innovation, creating thousands of good-paying union jobs and driving further investment in Pittsburgh’s tech hub.
Reduce taxpayer burden by purchasing more clean, American-made energy to meet the Climate Action Plan goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Secure a solar farm developer and a contract to purchase the power it generates.
Commission a study, restoration plan, and maintenance program for retaining walls and slopes, protecting homes, small businesses, and communities against damage from flooding and other extreme weather events.
Create a hazard mitigation plan that guides investments to help Pittsburgh prepare for continuing extreme weather events caused by climate change.

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Public Safety

When Mayor Gainey took office, he pledged to institute public health and community-led safety strategies to make Pittsburgh a safe city where no one lives in fear of crime or police violence. Shootings and homicides had jumped 46% in the year before Mayor Gainey took office, and only half of Pittsburgh residents felt their neighborhood was adequately policed.

Mayor Gainey made government work and made our communities safer: since he took office, homicides have fallen by 33% and non-fatal shootings have dropped by 44%.

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SUPPORTING YOUNG LEADERS

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Housing

Housing & Homelessness

Mayor Gainey has delivered on his promise to make Pittsburgh a place everyone can afford, by building affordable housing, creating pathways to home ownership for working families, ensuring safe living conditions for renters, and working to end homelessness and get unhoused people indoors.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Approved or completed construction on thousands of affordable housing units.
Driven down housing costs by securing $600 million, in partnership with Gov. Josh Shapiro, to build approximately a thousand new units of housing in downtown Pittsburgh, 30% of which will be affordable housing.
Secured an unprecedented 12 competitive Low-Income Housing Tax Credit awards which will create or preserve hundreds of housing units, providing affordable housing to the people who need it most.
Cut red tape by eliminating steps in the permitting process, allowing builders to deal with one agency instead of three, making it faster and simpler to build new housing.
Addressed blight and vacant properties by securing the sale or pending sale of over 150 properties from the city’s land bank, which helps acquire, manage, maintain, and move abandoned properties to buyers. From 2014 until Mayor Gainey took over in 2021, the land bank moved zero properties.
Helped 150 low- and moderate-income Pittsburghers purchase homes through OwnPGH, the city’s program to provide assistance to first-time home buyers.
Relaunched a rental registry to ensure safe and adequate living conditions for renters.
Secured a $30 million bond for affordable housing, the first of its kind in Pittsburgh. This will allow the city to produce or preserve an additional 1,000 units of affordable housing over the next three years.
Made space for all unhoused people to come indoors by moving people currently in shelter to transitional, supported, and subsidized housing by expanding “next homes” for unhoused people.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Cut Pittsburgh’s affordable housing deficit in half.
End chronic homelessness in Pittsburgh by working with the County to create a place for every person experiencing homelessness, ranging from temporary shelter to permanent housing.
Expand inclusionary zoning city-wide, ensuring that all new housing developments include a certain number of rent-controlled units.
Use government resources to solve the housing crisis without having to rely on landlords and for-profit corporate developers.
Issue a second affordable housing bond to continue the historic levels of investment into the production and preservation of affordable housing across the city.
Reverse the loss of 700 Black homeowners over the last decade.
Launch a second iteration of the OwnPGH program to build a new generation of homeowners.
Safety

Public Safety

When Mayor Gainey took office, he pledged to institute public health and community-led safety strategies to make Pittsburgh a safe city where no one lives in fear of crime or police violence. Shootings and homicides had jumped 46% in the year before Mayor Gainey took office, and only half of Pittsburgh residents felt their neighborhood was adequately policed.

Mayor Gainey made government work and made our communities safer: since he took office, homicides have fallen by 33% and non-fatal shootings have dropped by 44%.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Made communities safer by reducing the burden on police and combating the root causes of crime, resulting in a 33% drop in homicides and 44% drop in non-fatal shootings.
Established a special police detail to patrol Downtown and engage with residents, business owners, and the community.
Reached the city’s first police union contract in 20 years through negotiation and not arbitration. The contract will help recruit and retain officers, civilianize non-essential police functions, and hold police officers more accountable.
Hired the city’s first unarmed community service aides responsible for responding quickly to non-violent situations like parking violations, property theft reports, and wellness checks.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Continue to hire civilian staff to the police department, letting police focus on violent crime and issues that only uniformed officers can handle, while allowing social workers and unarmed personnel to handle the rest.
Continue to recruit more Black residents into the city’s Public Safety department, so our public agencies look like the people they represent.
Put community responders in place to assist frequent users of emergency services and avoid a tragedy before it happens, while providing counseling to victims, families, and communities affected by violence.
Hire violence interrupters who work directly with people at risk of committing or falling victim to gun violence.
Economy

Economic Development & REVITALIZATION

Since 2021, Mayor Gainey has fought to bring funding and investment to the city, grow our economy, and make Pittsburgh a city where everyone can truly thrive.

Mayor Gainey has secured over $328 million in state and federal funding, building intergovernmental relationships that support affordable housing, Pittsburgh’s workforce hub, infrastructure, youth opportunities, and public safety.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Delivered over $300 million in new state and federal funding to invest in programs like affordable housing, a workforce hub, infrastructure, youth opportunities, and public safety. 
Worked with Governor Josh Shapiro to deliver $600 million to reinvest in Downtown Pittsburgh, which will create approximately a thousand new units of housing, 30% of which will be affordable housing; remake public spaces like Market Square and Point State Park; and create a new public space in the Cultural District.
Secured the first-ever commitment from Highmark to make a financial contribution to the city — while holding UPMC accountable to Pittsburgh patients, workers, and taxpayers.
Unrigged the rules for City contracts, increasing disadvantaged business participation by 35% and awarding the first city contract to an LGBTQIA+ vendor.
Won the bid Pittsburgh the host of the 2026 NFL Draft, which will bring jobs, investment, tourism, and hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Leverage relationships with state and federal lawmakers and agencies to continue delivering investments to help working people in Pittsburgh.
Continue efforts to transform Downtown into a mixed-use, mixed-income, 24/7 neighborhood.
Continue the fight – at the negotiating table and in court – to ensure that the major non-profits that dominate our economy pay their fair share.
Provide career opportunities for every young graduate who wants to stay in Pittsburgh through partnerships with PPS, Partner4Work, and regional employers.
Complete a regional disparity study to set more aggressive goals for disadvantaged business participation in city contracts.
Overhaul City contracting practices to make the process faster and more fair.
Jobs

Workers, Unions, & Jobs

Mayor Gainey is a champion for labor unions and working people. He will always stand up for workers fighting for the pay and benefits they deserve. Mayor Gainey has taken on big corporations and powerful special interests to help Pittsburgh residents and workers, marching on picket lines and rallying with Steelworkers, healthcare workers, and food service workers to make sure corporations give them what they deserve.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Supported Pittsburgh workers and labor unions by standing with striking workers on picket lines across the city.
Developed a program to address the needs of Pittsburgh’s disadvantaged workers. Workers will now have a chance to receive help with employment hurdles like finding childcare, learning jobsite culture, and securing transportation to and from work.
Secured a regional workforce equity agreement, ensuring that contractors, vendors, and organizations doing work with the city create good-paying jobs for the people who need them most.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Continue to work with state, federal, and regional allies to bring good-paying jobs and investment to the city.
Support organized labor and union workers, using the Mayor’s office to expand and protect union rights and make it easier for more people to join a union.
Sanction vendors doing business with the city that break labor laws, discriminate against people while hiring, or pay substandard wages.
Expand pre-apprenticeship programs so they are available to residents in every neighborhood.
Infrastructure

INFRASTRUCTURE & PEDESTRIAN SAFETY

In 2022, after the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, Mayor Gainey’s administration doubled down on infrastructure development, making life easier, safer, and more efficient for Pittsburgh residents who drive, bike, walk, or take public transportation. When Mayor Gainey entered office, he pledged to make Pittsburgh a city that prioritizes traffic safety and accessibility, keeping everyone safe in their travel.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Reopened the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge in less than a year.
Ensured the city’s bridges are safe by achieving zero open bridges in failing condition and creating a plan to have every single bridge in good repair.
Tripled bridge maintenance funding compared to prior years.
Increased funding to repave roads.
Helped secure an historic investment to reconnect the Chateau and Manchester neighborhoods, separated by Route 65 since the late 1960s, driving small business development, employment, and economic opportunity.
Launched Vision Zero to maximize safety for everyone who uses our roadways, with the goal of zero fatal crashes or serious injuries. 
Expanded deployment of traffic reduction measures, bike and pedestrian lanes, and sidewalk repairs.
More than doubled funding for traffic calming projects, enhancing the safety of neighborhood streets by slowing down traffic and improving resources for pedestrians and cyclists.
Partnered with federal lawmakers and Governor Josh Shapiro to secure over $140 million to ease traffic on the city’s Parkway East.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Bring all city-owned bridges up to a safety rating of satisfactory or better.
Continue to secure investments in the city’s infrastructure to improve roads, bridges, public transit, and other utilities.
Establish a transportation management center to control traffic flow and promote safety on our streets.
Deploy smart infrastructure to improve the high-risk parts of our transit system.
Climate

CLIMATE RESILIENCe:

When Mayor Gainey took office, he pledged to make Pittsburgh a city that prioritizes environmental health and provides clean air and water to its residents. In 2021 prior to Mayor Gainey’s election, all energy for City facilities came from fossil fuels. Four years into the Mayor’s administration, he has cut that percentage nearly in half.

As Mayor, Ed has:

Shifted 40% of total electricity for city facilities to wind, decreasing dependency on fossil fuels.
Invested in electrifying the city’s fleet.
Committed to the Climate Action Plan Goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. 
Secured over $2 million for public electric vehicle charging within the city of Pittsburgh and ensured an equitable distribution across the city. 
Led the campaign for Pittsburgh to be selected as one of 25 cities for the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities program, designed to drive progress on clean energy job creation, climate resiliency, and clean air and water for working class communities and communities of color.

In the NExt four years, ed will:

Supercharge Pittsburgh’s position in clean energy innovation, creating thousands of good-paying union jobs and driving further investment in Pittsburgh’s tech hub.
Reduce taxpayer burden by purchasing more clean, American-made energy to meet the Climate Action Plan goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Secure a solar farm developer and a contract to purchase the power it generates.
Commission a study, restoration plan, and maintenance program for retaining walls and slopes, protecting homes, small businesses, and communities against damage from flooding and other extreme weather events.
Create a hazard mitigation plan that guides investments to help Pittsburgh prepare for continuing extreme weather events caused by climate change.