After loss, Peduto touts progressive movement that propelled Ed Gainey to victory

May 24—Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto views his loss in last week's Democratic primary to be a big win for the city's progressive movement that he helped start.

The loss doesn't mean his work as mayor is finished, Peduto said Monday.

"Our mission is the same. Our list just became a lot shorter," Peduto, 56, of Point Breeze, told the Tribune-Review. "My role now becomes that of helping to make sure the new administration can come in and on Day One hit the ground running."

The mayor spent the morning fielding questions from reporters in one-on-one interviews in his City-County Building office.

Peduto was bested by state Rep. Ed Gainey, 51, of Lincoln-Lemington by nearly 4,000 votes in a bid for a nearly unprecedented third term in office. Other challengers on the ballot included retired Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno, 51, of Brighton Heights and Michael Thompson, 38, of Oakland.

'Come on home': Ed Gainey promises reforms if elected in November as Pittsburgh's mayor

There were no Republican or third-party candidates on the primary ballot. Write-in votes haven't been tallied and it is unclear if anyone received the 250 votes to be placed on November's general election ballot.

What happened in the primary?

"There was a strong political wind that was looking for change, and there was a much greater turnout than was expected," Peduto said.

More than 55,000 Democrats voted this year, compared to about 45,000 in the May 2013 primary when Peduto won the Democratic nomination for mayor. With incumbent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl choosing not to run, Peduto's main opponent was Jack Wagner, the former state auditor general, state senator and city council member. State Rep. Jake Wheatley also ran, as did A.J. Richardson.

Peduto called the turnout this year the "largest in modern history" and said it included a number of "progressive voices and the voices of young people that came out ... and their motivation was to make history — to elect a progressive voice that would be the first Black man to be mayor," Peduto said.

The mayor said he will now add his voice to the chorus to support getting Gainey elected in the fall and ensuring there's a "very smooth transition."

Until the term ends, he's committed to doing his job, Peduto said. "Governance doesn't end with a primary election. We still have a lot to do as we finish up our term."

No regrets

Aside from leaving with unfinished business, Peduto said he has no regrets as he prepares to leave office.

These include the development of Hazelwood Green at the former industrial site along the Monongahela that's being marketed as a showpiece of environmentally-friendly redevelopment; promoting the Marshall Plan for Middle America, an initiative he's led that aims for a massive infusion of investment in cities like Pittsburgh; and continuing housing projects throughout the city's neighborhoods.

When asked for an accomplishment that sticks out, Peduto paused.

"It's impossible to pick one," he said.

Perhaps the summer Learn and Earn program that paired youth with places like UPMC, PNC and the University of Pittsburgh for a summer job that taught them real-work skills, Peduto said.

He's going to miss being able to interact with people as mayor.

"There's a magic that comes with being the mayor that when somebody see you, 99% of the time they automatically smile and that causes you to smile because smiles are contagious," Peduto said. "I've always felt more than blessed to have that ability with other people."

He became involved in politics more than 30 years ago. His goal has been "to take a city that I loved that had fallen so hard and to make it a place where young people would want to be. Where jobs would be plentiful. Where the city would be secure," said Peduto, who uses "Democratic capitalist" to describe his political philosophy. "I look back with great pride. We created a movement over 20 years in the making."

He's proud to have had a part in the progressive movement that paved the way for Gainey to win the primary, Peduto said.

In Pittsburgh, the primary election for mayor is considered, by default, the final election, as Republican voters are a distinct minority in the city. The last viable Republican mayoral candidate was Mark DeSantis in 2007, who took 35 percent of the vote against Luke Ravenstahl. The last Republican mayor, John Herron, left office in 1933.

As he prepares to leave office, Peduto said he's "bullish" about the future of the city and region and looks for "unprecedented growth" in the next five years, he said.

He has not talked to Gainey since election night. He wanted to give the Democratic nominee time to deal with the endless requests of others that come after an electoral win.

Once the November election is over and the results are official, there will be ample time to meet for a transition, Peduto said, and it will be smooth.

"I love Pittsburgh far too much to ever do anything that would set it back," he said.

What's next?

As for Peduto personally?

He's going to take some time off, travel, maybe write a book about 21st-century urban economics.

"I'd like to teach," Peduto said. "I think I need to leave Pittsburgh for a little bit."

He doesn't want to sit at home and be an armchair quarterback lamenting the decisions of the city's next leader.

Instead, he plans to travel to the Southern Hemisphere, ultimately to visit Antarctica.

"Being in a place that's completely different than anywhere I've been on earth. It's a place that fascinates me and I would like to see it and I think that this would be the time to do it," Peduto said.

Ideally, he'd leave in January and be on his way back north in time for Mardi Gras in 2022, he said.

After a year off, Peduto said, he'd like to work for either a global non-profit or in a government position away from Pittsburgh for a while.

He said he wouldn't turn down a job in the Biden administration, but would ask to delay taking such a position until 2023.

After Tuesday's loss, he's had telephone calls from Biden and former Vice President Al Gore, who notoriously conceded the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush.

Peduto's "ready for a new adventure" but then hopes to return home, because that's what Pittsburgh is to him.

"Family. Friends. It's home," Peduto said.

Tom Davidson is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, tdavidson@triblive.com or via Twitter .