Joseph Sabino Mistick: Winds of change in Pittsburgh, Philly

It was a tale of two Democratic cities on primary election night in Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, Democrats nominated Cherelle Parker to be their party’s nominee for mayor. In Pittsburgh, Sara Innamorato was the winner of the Democratic Party’s nomination for Allegheny County executive.

Those offices are widely seen as the second and third most powerful government positions in Pennsylvania, after the governor. If Parker or Innamorato wins in November, it would be the first time that a woman held either of those top jobs.

Both Parker and Innamorato have legislative experience. Parker served in the state House for 10 years, becoming the leader of the Philadelphia delegation, before getting elected to Philadelphia City Council. Innamorato has served in the Legislature since 2019, and she is vice chair of the Allegheny County delegation.

In Philadelphia, Parker beat nine opponents and won with less than one-third of the vote. In Allegheny County, Innamorato, who did not have the Democratic endorsement, led a field of six candidates and won with 37% of the vote.

Those are their similarities, but, based on their campaigns, the two nominees are very different on how they are likely to govern. Innamorato won at the vanguard of a growing progressive movement in Allegheny County. In Philadelphia, where progressives had made earlier progress, the voters went in the other direction, choosing Parker, a moderate or law-and-­order Democrat.

Innamorato promised to swing big at big issues if elected in November. She wants more Section 8 housing vouchers and a countywide property reassessment. She talks about ending environmental racism and would not reopen the county’s only juvenile detention center.

Parker talked about big issues, too, and said her first steps would involve traditional government services — public safety, clean streets, civic cooperation, business-­friendly policies. For her, these are the foundation of our communities.

Parker has called for more police and the use of stop-and-frisk to seize illegal guns. In a campaign ad with her son, she said, “As mayor and the mother of a Black boy, I’ll hold bad cops accountable, but I refuse to allow crime and violence to take over our city.”

Parker has vowed to clean up the garbage that litters city streets. She would expand a program that has worked successfully in her council district, hiring “street ambassadors” from the neighborhoods to help restore “a sense of pride and safety.”

The differences continued post-election. Parker is likely to be elected mayor in November, given the Democrats’ registration edge, and on Wednesday she hosted eight of her opponents for a “unity breakfast.” Her message: “We all have shared values, while we may not always agree on the path. My ego is not big enough that I am not willing to work with anyone.”

In Allegheny County, once renowned for cooperation between political opponents for the good of the region, the mood has been glum. Some important business and labor leaders are meeting with moderate Republican nominee Joe Rockey, and a faction of ward chairmen are talking about splintering from the Democratic committee.

On election night in Allegheny County, when the returns showed likely victories by Innamorato and other progressive candidates, incumbent Democratic County Executive Rich Fitzgerald sounded worried about the new order. He told WESA-FM, “It looks like we’re going to become similar to places like San Francisco or Seattle or Portland, with a far-left agenda of our elected officials.”