GOP mayoral candidates Moreno and West on 15207’s hot-button issues | The Homepage

Republican mayoral hopefuls Tony Moreno (left) and Thomas West at the Pittsburghers for Public transit mayoral forum on April 9. Images by Ray Gerard

By Juliet Martinez, managing editor

Democratic hopefuls Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor have track records in The Homepage’s circulation area. The Republicans vying to win in this month’s mayoral primary do not. But they do have ideas about how to address some of the problems our readers face.

Tony Moreno is a retired police detective and Thomas West owns a clothing store. They both answered questions about 15207-specific issues. Mr. Moreno emailed his responses, and Mr. West took time for a phone interview. Their responses have been edited and condensed. Learn more about your options for Pittsburgh’s next mayor above and on Page 9.

Some people are all for traffic calming throughout the city while others are opposed. Can you explain your position on it?

Mr. Moreno: Traffic safety is important and tracking where the problems are and addressing them appropriately is necessary. The city did not use data or perform studies of the impact of emergency response times, vehicle damage or the legality of blocking roads with cones or turnabouts that cause more accidents than they prevent. The community these measures would affect should be the major decision maker. We currently force this upon communities despite community concerns.

Mr. West: Whenever we spend money on pedestrian safety or neighborhood safety, we need to make sure the money is used wisely, and we also have to make sure we have results. So, community input is a necessity. Too many times, the city will start something, and we don’t know if it’s actually working, but we keep it going. I do believe in keeping neighborhoods safe for people who live there, for people who walk the sidewalks and cross the street. They don’t want to have to deal with speeding vehicles.

The majority of public transit riders in Allegheny County are city residents. What, if anything, can the mayor’s office do to help prevent service cuts?

Mr. Moreno: I will advocate for the city’s public transportation community, identify and present the massive failures that will be caused by eliminating routes, limiting times and reducing stops in the city of Pittsburgh. People chose to live in certain areas of our city BECAUSE of the availability of public transportation. Keep riders safe, build shelters where needed and find out where the waste and mismanagement are occurring within the city limits.

Mr. West: One thing the mayor can do is advocate for the city of Pittsburgh by being a loud voice in Harrisburg. We also need to lessen the impact of funding shortfalls. I believe in creating public-private initiatives to look to the future, so people who live in the city of Pittsburgh can depend on public transit. I want Pittsburgh to be a city that innovates and tests new options for public transit. We have a lot of great minds in this city, people who work every day and depend on public transit.

What is your approach to development and affordable housing?

Mr. Moreno: I will stop the illegal, racist area median income and inclusionary zoning models and stop negotiating deals with corporate developers through the money laundering operation called the Urban Redevelopment Authority. I will take the donor class out of the home building process and make my deals with the residents of the city of Pittsburgh. Take the funding available, go to the communities in need and build housing affordable for the people who live in that neighborhood. Over $100 million dollars has been pushed through the URA in the past decade, and we still have an “affordable housing“ problem. If the city government wanted to fix this problem, it would be fixed. I will fix it.

Editor’s note: The area median income is the midpoint between the highest and lowest household incomes in a given area. It is a statistical tool that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses to determine eligibility for programs. This measurement does not take race into account. Mr. Moreno declined to provide further information to support his assertion that this metric is racist and illegal.

Mr. West: A lot of people call the need for housing an emergency. If it is an emergency, we need to treat it as such. We need to make it easy for people to build homes, buy homes, and not be kicked out of their homes because their neighborhood has changed. The second part of the housing crisis that we never hear about is the creation of jobs and making sure neighborhoods are economically viable. People want to work. Maybe we can tap into the youth of these neighborhoods, make them see themselves as entrepreneurs, help to transform the neighborhoods from within and make them economically viable.

If you are elected, how will you ensure snow removal happens in a timely manner in neighborhoods like Lincoln Place, where people often feel the city has forgotten them?

Mr. Moreno: I will dedicate a snow crew in Lincoln Place so they don’t have to take snow removal from Hazelwood or Greenfield. I will reinstate road prep for known incoming storms, front loading salt piles, hiring and paying competitive drivers, operating a healthy fleet of vehicles and the maintenance needed to keep them running and allowing this city’s competitive spirit to thrive.

Our public works employees are proud and want to clear the roads to prove they can do it safely and effectively. This is one place where the GPS salting systems are failing us. The operators know how to get their areas of responsibility operational. I intend on allowing them to do that and having them teach newcomers how it gets done.

Mr. West: Snow removal is a quality-of-life issue and a safety issue. It affects the economic engine of the city when there’s a snowstorm, and too many neighborhoods are left behind and out of the conversation. You can’t have your fleet break down. We have to make sure those are funded. How long have we had this complaint? We need innovative ideas about how to have the same response in every neighborhood. Everyone has to get to work, doctor’s appointments and the grocery store. I want to get a lot of people at the table to figure out what we can do differently because it’s just not working.

In May 2015 a train derailment happened between The Run and Hazelwood. Officials reportedly said people were lucky the train cars were empty. Even so, there seems to be no emergency plan in place to keep residents safe if a derailment involves toxic and/or explosive materials. Will you develop such an emergency plan and develop more safety measures?

Mr. Moreno: There was a train derailment plan that stemmed from a derailment near Waterworks Mall in the early 90’s. As far as I know, it has not been updated to reflect current technologies or changes in transportation systems.

I will make sure to put in place current and proven plans that mesh with state and federal rail policies.

Mr. West: If community members are fearful about what could happen in their neighborhood from trains moving through, we definitely need to take a look at it and figure out how to calm people’s fears. Public safety is a top priority for me. In Highland Park, I hear trains go by when the whistle blows. So it’s citywide. But we have to make sure that when trains come through our area, if there’s a disaster, we need to have a game plan to keep people safe.

The now-abandoned Mon-Oakland Connector project was an attempt to streamline travel from the universities in Oakland to Hazelwood Green. Mayor Gainey has directed the focus of Oakland-Hazelwood traffic toward the Bates Street corridor. If you become mayor, how will you address the need to move people back and forth between the universities and Hazelwood Green?

Mr. Moreno: The Mon-Oakland project was rejected by the community because it did not serve the community. It served the universities as a shuttle to Hazelwood Green. I believe with true community input and responding to what the community feels they would benefit from, an agreement is there to be had where all parties benefit. This was forced upon Hazelwood when people living in The Run were begging for help from the dangers and deadly flooding happening there on a regular basis. They went as far as attaching water safety equipment to fences. I will serve the community needs above governments.

Mr. West: We need to get the universities and residents involved and look to the future at other ways of getting people back and forth without causing congestion. This is another case for public-private partnerships. The Mon-Oakland Connector was sprung on people. It happens way too many times in city government. Things are sprung on people, and they don’t know what’s coming. We have to introduce ideas and ask for input. There are no deals happening behind closed doors. No matter where you come from on the political spectrum, you have to have transparency. Without it, you can’t have a functional city or hold people accountable.