Bill Peduto takes the oath of office Monday afternoon in Heinz Hall as Pittsburgh's 60th mayor. The ceremony had been planned for outside City Hall but was moved because of concern over frigid temperatures.
The inauguration is a ticketed event and only a very limited number of seats will be available to the general public.
He joins the list of men and one woman, Sophie Masloff, to hold the office. That list includes Pittsburgh’s first mayor Ebeneezer Denny, who was appointed in 1816 after the adoption of the city charter; David L. Lawrence, the longest serving mayor — 13 years; John Herron, the last Republican to hold the post — 80 years ago; and the city’s youngest mayor, Luke Ravenstahl ,who officially ends his seven-plus years in office Monday.
Peduto will actually be the 59th person to be mayor of Pittsburgh. Magnus Miller Murray served as the city's fourth and sixth mayor in the 1830s.
After finishing second in the mayoral primary in 2005 and dropping out of the 2007 race, Peduto easily captured his party’s nomination, defeating three other Democrats last May: Jack Wagner, Jake Wheatley and A. J. Richardson. He then breezed to victory in November’s general election over Republican Josh Wander and Independent Les Ludwig.
"There is no disclaimer anymore about being the great post-industrial city," Peduto said in his victory speech. "We are the next great American city."
Part of building what he calls "a new Pittsburgh" will come from implementing some of the 1,100 pages of recommendations made by citizens over the last two months.
Peduto will take the oath of office near the statue of the late Mayor Richard Caliguiri, the author of Pittsburgh's Renaissance Two. Peduto's supporters are hoping he can lead Pittsburgh to a new Renaissance.
"It's going to take an all hands on deck approach and a whole new way of doing government in this city to get there," Peduto said election night.
After being sworn in, Mayor Peduto will greet residents at the Wintergarden at PPG Place from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., an invitation-only inaugural celebration will be held at the Heinz History Center featuring 20 musical and performance acts.
The transition committee is urging people attending any of the events to make food or cash donations to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
