Charland will be only candidate in Pittsburgh City Council race to replace Kraus

Only one Democratic candidate will appear on the May primary ballot in Pittsburgh City Council’s District 3 after a candidate withdrew from the race this week.

William Reeves, 24, of the South Side Slopes, announced Wednesday via Twitter that he was pulling out of the race to replace retiring Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South Side.

“At today’s petition challenge hearing it became apparent that I could no longer be on the ballot in May,” he said in a tweet. “I have withdrawn from the race after that.”

Reeves did not specify why he could not appear on the ballot.

Reeves said it “stings that the people of District 3 will no longer have a choice” on their ballots to determine who will succeed Kraus.

That leaves Bob Charland, 34, of the South Side Flats, as the only candidate in the primary race.

Charland has been chief of staff for Kraus for about two years and has worked in Kraus’ office for five years.

Charland entered the race after Kraus said in January that he would not seek reelection. Kraus, who served as the council president from 2014 to 2020, is in his 16th year representing the district that includes Allentown, Arlington, Beltzhoover, Knoxville, South Side and St. Clair, as well as parts of Mt. Washington and Oakland.

“We need a council person who is ready to hit the ground running,” Charland said, arguing that his experience in City Hall would allow him to do just that.

“The number one thing I want to focus on is cleanliness, because our ability to handle trash issues, litter issues, is woefully inadequate,” he said. “It’s well-documented that cleanliness drives safety, drives educational outcomes, drives health outcomes.”

Another priority, he said, would be developing a plan to better maintain East Carson Street, the busy main street that is home to the South Side’s entertainment and night life industry. He called for a designated entity to be in charge of “maintaining the business district, making sure we’re recruiting a diverse set of businesses, that we have responsible nightlife, that we have productive retail, that we’re managing the street properly.”

He also called for designated police officers to patrol that area — something that the city had done prior to the covid-19 pandemic — to ensure officers working there are specifically trained in how to deal with the unique needs of that area.

Charland said he also would like to see additional funding for recreation centers that provide after-school programs for children and additional affordable housing created by converting existing vacant properties.