Pittsburgh residents voted for change when they chose Ed Gainey as the Democratic nominee for mayor. On Friday, Gainey said he intends to deliver.

“Our young folks want to see a city of justice,” Gainey said in an interview with the Tribune-Review. “That’s a change that creates opportunities for everybody and allows us to be able to have a narrative that we can build a city for all.”

Gainey, 51, of Lincoln-­Lemington, a five-term state representative, defeated incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto by a nearly 4,000-vote margin in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. So far, he does not face a Republican or independent opponent in November’s election.

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If elected, Gainey will be the city’s first Black mayor.

In a series of media sit-downs Friday, Gainey used a room in Hamilton House, a homeless shelter in the city’s Homewood neighborhood, to give his first interviews since the election.

He called the primary victory a “wow moment” and said Tuesday was a blur as he went from being considered a formidable opponent of Peduto to soundly defeating the mayor in his bid for a third term.

“It was a beautiful feeling,” Gainey said.

Peduto called about 10:30 p.m. to concede, offering congratulations and a few words of wisdom, Gainey said.

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Gainey was “quite surprised and grateful.”

“After that, I needed a moment to myself because I wanted to be able to deal with my own emotions and prepare for what comes next,” Gainey said.

He anticipates a smooth transition, but said there will be changes coming to the way Pittsburgh is run.

The first priority will be changing the way the city approaches policing.

“We want to work with them (police), but there are some things we have to change,” Gainey said.

Black residents make up 23% of the city’s population but account for 56% of arrests, he said, reciting a statistic he used often in his campaign.

“That rate is not alarming; it’s traumatic. It does devastation to communities, particularly Black communities,” he said. “We need an equitable police force that’s distributed across the city. There will be some change. Not changes for the sake of changes, but changes for the sake of growth.”

There will be more community policing, more cops on the beat and police who know the people they’re paid to protect and serve, Gainey said.

“That builds trust,” Gainey said. “Right now, we have to reverse the erosion of trust and begin to build it again.”

It’s too early to detail the specific changes he will be making, Gainey said, but they will be made as part of his goal to make Pittsburgh “a city for all.”

Pittsburgh’s residents demanded changes and sought justice during the course of more than 100 protests last year, and Gainey was listening to them.

“We have never seen that in the city before,” he said.

The people who participated were as diverse as the city is: young and old, Black and white, LGBTQ and straight. The common denominator was a quest for justice, Gainey said.

“It resonated with everybody that there’s a change going on,” he said.

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His aim is to make Pittsburgh a home for people, regardless of their race, gender or sexual orientation.

“A city that’s more welcoming, a city that’s welcoming to everyone, regardless,” he said. “One of the big knocks on Pittsburgh was that young people didn’t feel welcome here.”

That will change in his administration, he says.

“I love this city. I think we’ve got one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” Gainey said.

He said his electoral win sends a message to the city’s youth.

“You can be whatever you want to be, and you don’t have to leave Pittsburgh to get there,” Gainey said. “You can start right here at home.”

It also sends a message to the Pittsburgh diaspora, people who left the city for opportunities elsewhere even though they still root for the Steelers.

“Come on home. Come on home and start businesses right here,” Gainey said. “We’ll help you. We want you to come home. The door is open. Now, we can create opportunities for you here.”

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