Pittsburgh Councilman Bruce Kraus won’t seek reelection, his top staffer Bob Charland looks to replace him

Longtime Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus said Wednesday that he will not seek reelection.

Kraus, a Democrat from the South Side, is in his 16th year representing the city’s District 3 and served as council president from 2014 to 2020. He was the first openly gay person elected to council.

“Through the good and not so good times, we forged ahead with our common goal of a better day for us all,” Kraus, 68, said in a statement.

In a subsequent announcement Wednesday, Bob Charland, Kraus’ chief of staff, announced that he intends to run for the District 3 seat. The district includes Allentown, Arlington, Beltzhoover, Knoxville, the South Side and St. Clair and parts of Mt. Washington and Oakland.

As of Wednesday afternoon, no other district residents had announced plans to run for the seat.

Kraus said he was proud of council’s accomplishments during his tenure, particularly its work to help move the city out of Act 47 financial oversight, preserving the city’s employee pension fund from state takeover, maintaining the city’s water system as a publicly held system and passing a city ban on straw firearm purchases where someone buys a weapon for another person who is prohibited from owning one. (The firearm legislation has not yet been enforced and is currently facing court challenges.)

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said it was an honor to serve alongside Kraus and praised him for his dedication to his district’s neighborhoods and for blazing a path for a new generation of elected officials.

Community. Join me in thanking Councilman @BruceKraus for his 16 years of dedicated service to our city. Bruce was the first out Gay man to run and win elected office in Pittsburgh — he broke down barriers, served with dedication, and always showed up as a friend for District 3. pic.twitter.com/G527vBwNvt

— Mayor Ed Gainey (@MayorEdGainey) January 18, 2023

“He broke down barriers, served with dedication, and always showed up as a friend for District 3,” said Gainey in a statement.

Council President Theresa Kail-Smith said Kraus has brought a wealth of institutional knowledge to council that will be missed after his term expires.

“You’ve really helped us through and helped to lead in many, many ways,” she told Kraus during a council meeting Wednesday. “I think this council and this city have benefited from what you bring to the table.”

Kraus said he is ready to step aside to help create opportunity for new leadership to emerge.

“This is an exciting time in what I see as fully capable and experienced young people stepping up to assume the mantle of leadership, and I would like to provide the way for that to happen,” he said.

Charland, 34, said he is hoping to fill that role and said his experience would allow him to hit the ground running.

I’m proud to announce that I will be running for Pittsburgh City Council, District 3. Our community needs someone ready to do this job on day one, and I have the experience needed to serve our neighbors and build a stronger future together.

— Bob Charland (@CharlandBob) January 18, 2023

“I’m not asking for your vote just to send me to Grant Street. I’ve been there working for our neighbors every day,” Charland said. “I’m seeking your trust and this office to continue to do real work and to bring new resources to Jucunda, Delmont and Lawn streets.”

Charland lives on the South Side with his wife Cassidy. He is a board member of New Leaders Council Pittsburgh and a trustee of the Phipps Conservatory. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

If elected, he said he wants to ensure that District 3 isn’t just managing decline and that the neighborhoods are improving conditions to attract families to stay and move into the city.

“With close proximity to job centers, entertainment districts and some of the best urban green space available, all of our neighborhoods should be choice communities for families moving into Pittsburgh and for our neighbors that are here now,” Charland said.

The primary is being held on May 16.

Tribune-Review reporter Julia Felton contributed to this story.