Longtime Pittsburgh City Councilor Bruce Kraus will not seek re-election this year. Kraus, who first took office in 2008, announced his long-expected decision in a press release Wednesday.
“I have always held that we come from the private sector to serve in the public sector for a limited period of time,” the statement read. “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.”
Shortly after Kraus’ statement, his chief of staff Bob Charland announced his plans to run for the seat. “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,” Charland said.
Kraus told WESA that Charland has his full support. “Having been in the office for the last five years … he's seen the good, the bad and the ugly and already has a good way of navigating it,” he said.
Kraus was Pittsburgh City Council’s first openly gay member. And along with Ricky Burgess, he's the longest-serving member currently on council, having been in office under mayors Luke Ravenstahl, Bill Peduto and Ed Gainey. He was council president from 2014 through 2020. Current council president Theresa Kail-Smith said Wednesday that city staff will miss his “institutional knowledge.”
District 3 encompasses the South Side and portions of Oakland, as well as "hilltop" neighborhoods that include Allentown, Arlington, and Beltzhoover.
Of his time in office, Kraus said he’s proudest of his work alongside other officials to shepherd the city’s finances while Pittsburgh was put under Act 47 shortly before he officially took office.
“We were in dire straits," he said. "There were incredibly difficult decisions we needed to make to make sure that the city was fiscally sound. But we did that."
According to Kraus, among the most important pieces of legislation during his time in office was the passage of Pittsburgh’s “lost and stolen” ordinance, designed to address so-called “straw purchases” of firearms. (A "straw purchase" describes a transaction in which a person legally purchases a firearm, but then either sells or gives it to someone who is barred from buying it directly.)
The legislation has never been enforced, due to concerns about legal challenges — a fact Kraus laments.
“I can't help but think of a 15-year-old young man or woman that has a handgun in their hands today, might not have had a handgun in their hands had that legislation actually been effectuated,” he said.
There have been other challenges as well, including a long-running struggle to balance the needs of residents in Kraus' own South Side neighborhood with the Carson Street bar scene.
Kraus said he began considering whether to call it quits during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I don't think I'm any different than anyone else that went through the pandemic and began to reevaluate employment,” he said. “We weren't even remotely prepared — I mean, physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally — for what [a] global pandemic would bring."
Kraus said he isn't sure what comes next after he steps down next January. But he said he has a year to sort that out and still hopes to accomplish some good during his remaining months.
As for the future of District 3, Kraus stressed that his successor would be wise to build strong partnerships with community members and other elected officials.
“I learned very early on that we are part of something greater than ourselves and … it's the art of compromise and collaboration which will help us to achieve our goals,” he said. “I came here in a spirit of cooperation and a willingness to accomplish what we set out to do. And we did that by building good relationships with those around us.”
Kraus stressed his deep appreciation for his constituents, staff members and fellow councilors Wednesday.
“There are roughly 330,000 people in the city of Pittsburgh. Only nine of us get to do this at any given point in time,” he told WESA. “It really is an honor.”
