A slate of candidates Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor tapped to fill seats on various boards and commissions earned City Council approval Tuesday — though a couple of the nominees met some resistance from members of the public.
Former Pittsburgh Finance Director Scott Kunka will once again sit on the board of Pittsburgh Water, 12 years after ending a previous seven-year stint on the board.
Kunka had been among the board members who voted to partner with a private company that managed the city’s water and sewer infrastructure for more than three years, a deal many officials strongly criticize.
While on the board of the city’s parking authority, Kunka had championed a measure — which council blocked — that would’ve allowed a private company to lease the city’s parking infrastructure for 50 years.
Natalia Rudiak, a former councilwoman who had served with Kunka on the parking authority’s board, bristled at his nomination.
“It doesn’t make sense to choose someone who is the No. 1 advocate for privatizing public assets,” Rudiak said.
Voters last year passed a referendum to bar Pittsburgh’s public water and sewer infrastructure from being privatized.
Rudiak said she still worries there could be “loopholes.”
“Voters’ wishes are often taken out of context and often circumvented,” Rudiak told TribLive Monday. “I think the best way to prevent a private takeover is to literally appoint people to the board who are committed to public assets staying public.”
Kunka in an interview with council members last week denied being pro-privatization. He pointed out that the deals he supported at the water and parking authorities were not sales of public infrastructure, but long-term agreements to manage or lease.
“I don’t think it’s necessary, and I would be against that moving forward,” Kunka said when asked whether he would support privatizing Pittsburgh Water.
‘Inartful’ comments
Council on Tuesday also approved a slew of appointments to the city’s Planning Commission, including the reappointment of longtime board Chair Lashawn Burton-Faulk.
Among the new commissioners is David Vatz, who heads Pro-Housing Pittsburgh, a housing advocacy organization that has been vocal in opposing a controversial inclusionary zoning policy.
Former Mayor Ed Gainey had introduced an inclusionary zoning bill that would’ve required any developments with 20 or more housing units set aside a percentage of them as affordable to low-income residents.
The effort stalled when council approved sweeping amendments to the bill, making affordable housing voluntary. The amended bill is waiting for a vote from the Planning Commission.
Some residents last week pushed back on Vatz’s appointment, pointing to social media posts Vatz made questioning the need for community meetings to discuss relatively minor projects.
In a 2024 post, referring to a community meeting discussing plans to plant trees, he wrote, “So let professional planners, not neighborhood busybodies, make an educated decision on whether it should be done. No need for a public meeting.”
“David Vatz’s conduct, his comments, his attitude toward the public at large, individual community members, the planning commission itself, I think, raise serious and valid concerns about his willingness and ability to serve the public with integrity in this role,” said Maddy McGrady, co-chair of the Housing Justice Table.
Vatz during an interview with council members last week acknowledged that he had “said some inartful things before on social media.”
“I’ve tried to be better about that,” he added.
When asked to elaborate on his thoughts about public engagement, Vatz said he feels existing efforts “are not always representative of the community.” Still, he said input from residents who show up to commission meetings or speak out about a development should be considered.
“It’s a data point that needs to be taken into account by the commission when trying to understand any particular development or any particular piece of legislation,” Vatz said.
Other appointments
Other nominees approved to sit on the commission include:
- Darrin Kelly, who recently stepped down as president of the Allegheny-Fayette Labor Council
- Former Urban Redevelopment Authority Deputy Executive Director Diamonte Walker
- Gerardo Interiano, vice president of government relations at self-driving car company Aurora
- Justin Hunt, director of acquisitions and investor relations at Elmhurst Group
- Bob Reppe, who previously served as Pittsburgh’s zoning administrator and is now Carnegie Mellon University’s architect.
South Side Councilman Bob Charland voted against Burton-Faulk. Coucilwomen Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, and Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, voted against Vatz. Warwick also voted against Interiano. Point Breeze Councilman Khari Mosley was absent from the meeting because of his father’s recent death.