Countdown to the Pittsburgh Mayoral Elections

With less than 50 days until election day, our campus has been abuzz, especially with Presidential campaign fever. It is an extremely critical election, the likes of which probably have not been seen in the lifetimes of most of the students here at the University of Pittsburgh. However, elections and politics are not a once-every-four-years event!

In fact, after November, one of the most important campaigns for the city will really start heating up. I am talking about the primary elections for mayor. While the general election that will determine the mayor is not until November 2013, the primaries to determine the candidates for each party will happen in May. To be honest, in this city, the Democratic primary is ultimately the election that determines who will become mayor. The reality of urban politics is that much more often than not, the Democratic candidate wins the majority of the votes. Therefore, the primary determining the Democratic candidate often determines the overall winner as well. Pittsburgh has not elected a Republican in the general election since the Great Depression. That being said, it is critical that students pay attention to the Democratic primary.

Historically, student turnout for mayoral elections has been low, which has given the mayor little incentive to care about issues that are important to students. In fact, just four years ago, days after the general election was over, there was an attempt by the current administration to put a tax on school tuition. Fortunately students reacted by mobilizing to voice opposition and the tax was never enacted. This year, I am encouraging all students to be proactive, so that we do not have to be reactive, and the mayor will have an incentive to pay attention to issues that are important to students. Check back next week for more information on the potential candidates.