Editorial: Mayor Gainey needs to own his mistakes instead of being defensive
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Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey didn’t need to be defensive Thursday.
He was speaking at an event celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Wood Street police substation.
“I want to thank our officers,” Gainey said.
That’s the way things should have gone: appreciation for the Pittsburgh police officers, acknowledgment of strides forward, recognition that there is still work to do — especially in light of a teenager shot Wednesday on a Downtown street.
But the mayor decided to make things heated, challenging members of the media as part of the problem. Was the problem that there have already been more nonfatal shootings Downtown less than two months into 2025 than there were in all of 2024?
No. It was that WPXI investigative reporter Rick Earle had the temerity to refer to acting police chief and Gainey’s pick to permanently fill that spot, Christopher Ragland, by his first name.
The event also became a showcase for Gainey’s frustration over Pittsburgh City Council responses to his actions. Council was not happy with the end of former police Chief Larry Scirotto’s tenure. Scirotto stepped down after it was discovered he had a quiet deal with Gainey to return to NCAA basketball refereeing despite assuring council he would not moonlight.
Because of that, there have been pushes for additional checks on positions where the mayor makes a decision but council greenlights it. Candidates would be interviewed under oath. Now there is a proposal to add public meetings in each police zone.
Gainey made his displeasure clear.
“Whatever agenda they may have, a couple people on council have, in regards to who they feel should be chief is on them,” he said. “Whether it’s six, 10, 12 (meetings), it’s not going to change my opinion on who it should be. … I think he’s earned it. I think he’s done an incredible job Downtown.”
Gainey is missing the point.
The measures being put into place are not a reaction to the candidate. They are a reaction to the mayor’s moves.
Gainey’s closed-door deal with Scirotto — to close council out of important information — is the latest and most blatant step that skirts the legislative body’s role. A mayor is an executive. He directs moves for the city within the authority of his office. Council’s passed and proposed bills outline the boundaries of that power.
If Gainey is unhappy, he shouldn’t blame the media for covering crime stories and he shouldn’t blame city council for writing bills that make things clear. He should take ownership of his own missteps.