Pittsburgh City Councilman Bobby Wilson, challenger Steven Oberst square off in Democratic primary

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bobby Wilson is facing a Democratic primary challenge in his bid for a second term.

Steven Oberst, 59, of Brighton Heights, ran unsuccessfully for the council seat in 2011 and is now squaring off against Wilson, 40, of Spring Hill, who defeated former Councilwoman Darlene Harris in 2019 to represent the city’s District 1.

The district includes Allegheny Center, Allegheny City Central, Allegheny West, Brighton Heights, Downtown, East Allegheny, Fineview, Northview Heights, Observatory Hill, Spring Garden, Spring Garden, Spring Hill, the Strip District, Summer Hill, Troy Hill and Washington’s Landing.

Wilson said he’s seeking reelection to follow through on initiatives he started in his first term and to take on “bigger challenges that are more systemic.” He also said he’s eager to tackle issues in Downtown and the Strip District, which were added to his district during last year’s redistricting process.

The councilman said he was proud to sponsor legislation that protects abortion access in the city, grants city employees bereavement leave after miscarriages, bans parking in bike lanes, reduces speed limits in most city parks and dedicates $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to relieve medical debt for Pittsburghers.

“I’ve been very active on the legislative side,” Wilson said. “I’m looking to carry that energy into the next term and to look at even bigger challenges the city faces.”

If reelected, Wilson said he would focus on big issues such as affordable housing. He said he’d like to ensure that the city’s land bank puts to good use the $7 million in ARPA dollars it was allocated to bring more affordable housing to the market. He said he also would work to ensure the city’s zoning code doesn’t create barriers to developing affordable housing.

Wilson said he also is working with the city’s law department to revamp the city’s rental registry legislation, which would’ve required landlords register their units with the city, hire a responsible local agent if they’re not in the area and have regular inspections of their units. The measure was struck down in court, but Wilson said he’s working to create a new version that holds up in court and includes provisions to regulate short-term rental units such as Airbnbs.

“I want to work on a bill that is something our law department can defend and that ensures the safety of renters, whether you’re renting for 24 hours or two years,” Wilson said.

In the Downtown area, Wilson said, he wants to work to encourage existing businesses to stay while attracting new businesses. He said he’d like to see additional funding for more clean-up efforts in the area, added focus on Downtown greenspaces and support for the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Downtown residential conversion pilot program.

Wilson said he was supportive of increasing police patrols in the area, but said he’d also like to partner with county officials to “make sure we’re really addressing the root cause of these issues and make sure we have a better response for behavioral and mental health” needs.

Oberst said he wants to make a difference by serving on council.

“I’ve always wanted to serve the community,” he said, explaining that he’s done so through volunteering at his church and umpiring and refereeing for local athletics.

If elected, he said wants to increase the number of police throughout the city, citing concerns with low police staffing levels.

“We need to have more policing,” he said. “The violence and the shootings have to stop.”

Oberst said he isn’t supportive of local legislation that requires Pittsburgh police to have a reason to initiate a stop-and-frisk-style stop or a measure that bars officers from pulling people over for minor secondary violations such as a burned-out light or an improperly placed license plate.

“Take the handcuffs off the police,” he said.

Oberst said he’d “definitely like to try to clean up the homeless problem in the city,” but said he wasn’t sure what he would want to do at a local level to address the issue. He said he would look for federal money and federal programs to address homelessness.

He said he’d like to expand the city’s social worker programs.

Oberst, who owns an income tax office and several rental properties, expressed mixed feelings about the rental registry efforts and regulations on short-term rentals.

He said he didn’t think such measures would’ve stopped the violence that erupted at a North Side Airbnb last Easter that left two teenagers dead and eight others injured. He said he felt problems like that should be addressed with more police, rather than regulations on the rental units and landlords.

Oberst said he didn’t think there was “anything wrong” with having landlords register their units, but said he felt the state’s laws are already “so in favor of the tenants, the landlord is like handcuffed.”

“It needs to be more fair for the landlords,” he said, explaining that he could support the idea of inspections on rental units to ensure they’re “livable.”