Following last week’s news that Allegheny County Controller and mayoral candidate Corey O’Connor’s campaign had accepted donations from Republican donors, Pittsburgh City Paper learned that O’Connor had fundraised among a group of private developers — and that both Democratic candidates for mayor have accepted thousands from Pittsburgh real estate and construction companies.
Donations to O’Connor’s campaign include $13,000 from employees of Walnut Capital and in-kind donations of catering from multiple individuals connected with Walnut Capital and other real estate firms. Many appear to have contributed during a Jan. 27 fundraiser that brought in over $90,000. Contacted by City Paper for clarification, O’Connor acknowledged the fundraiser and donations of catering. However, O’Connor also pointed out that incumbent Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey had also taken large donations from developers and construction firms.
“He’s been taking money from them the entire time he’s been in office,” O’Connor tells CP, framing the revelations about donations as a “desperate move by the mayor’s office.”
Gainey received a $2,900 donation from a Walnut Capital employee during his 2021 run for office, but his campaign verified for CP that the donation was immediately returned. However, Gainey’s campaign did receive substantial contributions, including several “maxed-out” $3,300 donations, from employees of contracting and paving companies including Mistick Construction, Lindy Paving — which operates a large plant near Uptown and has frequently handled city paving projects — as well as several prominent Pittsburgh architects and employees of commercial realtor Burns Scalo.
O’Connor’s list of donors, meanwhile, includes employees of construction company Mosites Co. and the families behind real estate firms Howard Hanna, Laurel Communities, and Lobos Management. In his capacity as county controller, O’Connor appeared with Laurel Communities principal and campaign donor Marty Gillespie at a groundbreaking for a luxury townhomes project in Duquesne Heights — a Laurel townhome in a similar Strip District development recently sold for $2 million.
On Jan. 27, O’Connor received donations totaling $5,000 from Bob and Linda Eckenrode and $3,330 each from five members of the Sobol family. The Eckenrodes own sizable holdings of South Oakland rentals and Uptown rowhouses. They and the Sobol family, who control Lobos Management, have been linked to resident complaints stemming from neglect, infestations, fire, allegedly unfair evictions, and a host of legal issues. CP contacted a former resident who didn’t want their name used but called Eckenrode “the worst of all time,” citing their and friends’ experiences in South Oakland.
O’Connor tells CP that “that check [from Eckenrode] has been returned. As soon as we saw that donation, we sent it back.” Reached by phone for comment, Eckenrode said he was “not interested” in elaborating on his support for O’Connor.
As Pittsburgh housing gets more expensive, policymakers and developers face a variety of local challenges, and the two Democratic candidates have staked out differing but similarly ambitious policy solutions. O’Connor has promised fixes to Pittsburgh’s byzantine zoning laws, “encouraging housing abundance,” including affordable housing; and a greater focus on transit-oriented development. Gainey has supported regulatory policies including a voluntary rental registry and citywide inclusionary zoning (IZ), which the Pittsburgh Planning Commission advanced to city council following a marathon debate, as well as incentive programs such as OwnPGH.
“We’re in the dilemma that we are because we privatized so much housing and [have become] dependent on for-profit developers to build the housing that we need for our people,” housing justice advocate Randall Taylor tells CP. Taylor says he’s spoken with Gainey about increasing the public housing supply, establishing tenant cooperatives, and “making strides” in reforming the city housing authority.
“The money that Corey O’Connor is getting, it seems to me to be directly saying … that we want for-profit developers to stay in charge,” Taylor says.
O’Connor characterized his opponent’s plans as one-size-fits all and emphasized a build-more-housing approach, noting his campaign chair, John Katz, builds and maintains affordable housing as part of Brandywine Communities and recently took a seat on a “healthy housing” board. O’Connor also highlighted his close involvement in the construction of affordable housing in the heart of Squirrel Hill, where he grew up, saying he’s “always been a supporter” of building affordable units.
“We need a lot of affordable housing — this mayor has been so stagnant, it’s hurting all housing markets.” He also emphasized creating pathways to homeownership: “I’ve been saying it at every stump speech.”
Regarding IZ, O’Connor says there’s some daylight between him and Gainey. “I supported IZ in Lawrenceville,” he tells CP. “Inclusionary Zoning is a tool we can use; however, the mayor’s office wants to implement a flat plan all across Pittsburgh. I cannot support that.”
Both mayoral candidates seem to agree on one thing: Pittsburgh needs more places to live. Cities including Austin, Texas and Minneapolis, Minn. have eased their affordability crises by building thousands of units. Voters will get to sound off on whether they favor Gainey’s approach or O’Connor’s approach more on May 20.
Taylor, for one, is hoping to see Pittsburgh lead the charge on building units that stay affordable for locals.
“I would like the city to start talking about building thousands of permanently affordable, publicly-held, publicly-owned, operated, and maintained housing units,” he tells CP. “We don’t need a Pittsburgh for some. We need a Pittsburgh for all.”
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2025.
