Working people are who keep Pittsburgh running each and every day. As City Councilperson, Barb will employ every tool available to make sure that every worker – whether in the workforce for years or just starting out – gets the support, opportunities, and training they need to thrive. This means standing up for union labor as well as working with union leaders to ease the path to membership for young people. It also means fighting to make sure that our largest employers and property owners pay living wages and their fair share in taxes. At the same time, Barb will work to direct City funding and resources toward supporting small businesses and MWDBEs, which are the lifeblood of our local communities. Finally, to continually ensure transparency of operations and affordability of service, Barb will work to keep our vital public services – from water to transportation to education – public, so that their leadership can be held accountable to the taxpayers they serve.

Growth is good – but not when it cuts out the people living in Pittsburgh today. As City Councilperson, Barb will make sure that City planning and development are focused on the needs of current residents as well as those coming tomorrow. That means not just checking the community engagement box, but actually mandating that developers meet resident needs through clear and binding community benefit agreements. It also means using development projects to uplift workers within the community and enacting inclusionary zoning requirements that ensure affordable housing is not only designated, but is also built in the most advantageous locations – near economic hubs, city parks, and major transit connections. Development should never serve to force people out. Instead, those who have lived in Pittsburgh’s unique neighborhoods for generations should – regardless of race or economic status – be able to thrive and prosper as those same neighborhoods evolve for generations to come.

It seems like common sense that City government should deliver clean air, safe drinking water, and safe living environments to all residents. Yet the most vulnerable across Pittsburgh continue to be exposed to pollution, lead, and flooding. At the same time, the City has been quick to hand over our precious greenspaces – especially right here in District 5 – to developers and special interests. As citizens, we have fought hard against these efforts and won. As City Councilperson, Barb will continue that fight with the power of legislation behind her. In addition, she will not blindly accept the environmental promises of technology companies looking to profit from driverless cars and e-scooters that do nothing to reduce the traffic on our roads, but instead undercut our labor force and clutter our streets, greenspaces, and sidewalks. At the same time, she will support and uphold Pittsburgh’s fracking ban as well as zero-emissions clean energy initiatives that will lead to sustainable, long-term reductions in greenhouse gas pollutants through the development of wind and solar energy and the evolution of a truly green economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us both how vital and how underfunded our public education system truly is. It has also laid bare what we have known all along – that zip code determines the quality of our children’s schools and their access to critical education resources both during and after school. Pittsburgh Public Schools and the City of Pittsburgh may be two separate entities in name, but their mission should be the same. As City Councilperson, Barb will make connections and build relationships with PPS Board members and staff as well as Citiparks, the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, and the Port Authority to ensure that our kids have a safe, healthy, and successful school day – from the moment they walk out the front door to when they come home.

Recent census numbers show that nearly a quarter of Pittsburgh households do not have access to a private vehicle. They also show that more than 17% of our City’s population uses public transit to commute to work every day. Add students, the unemployed, and other noncommuters, and the actual number of transit riders is much higher – putting public transportation at the heart of Pittsburghers’ ability to participate, contribute, and thrive in our economy. For too long, the City has taken the view that public transit is the purview of the county – focusing instead on flashy mobility gimmicks like privatized shuttles that move very few people to limited destinations and e-scooters that clutter our roads and sidewalks – making them impassible for bicycles, pedestrians, and people with disabilities. Instead of catering to big-tech companies with little regard for the well-being of residents, Barb will work toward improving transit access and allowing buses to move more efficiently through our streets. A world-class city, by definition, has world-class public transportation. If we hope to connect residents to the jobs, education, healthy food, and healthcare they need while reducing traffic and demonstrating to newcomers that Pittsburgh is indeed a most livable city, public transit must be a top priority.

Public safety is a critical component to life in a large city. But sadly, it is the issue that most divides us. We all want to feel safe – and know that our families are safe – in our streets, in our schools, at work, and in our homes. Yet when we talk about public safety, we need to focus on more than just law enforcement. We cannot adequately fund critical services and infrastructure, such as after-school programs for our youth, comprehensive social and mental health services, and safe, accessible streets and transit, when $1 out of every $5 budget dollars goes to fund the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. When communities say they live in fear – of their environment or of interactions with police – we need to listen. This is why, as City Councilperson, Barb will do everything in her power to ensure that City resources go toward programs, services, and projects to proactively prevent violence and harm in our communities before it happens. She will also work to make sure that our law enforcement officers have the de-escalation training and expert support they need to respond appropriately to every call – both for their safety and the safety of those in distress. Finally, she will support all measures to increase transparency and accountability in cases of police misconduct in order to instill trust between law enforcement and the public and help our dedicated officers better engage with the people they have been entrusted to protect and serve.