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Updated 1 hour ago
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is heading into his first re-election campaign with nearly $1 million in his war chest.
The People for Peduto campaign raised $470,000 in 2016 and ended the year with $836,691, according to finance reports filed with the Allegheny County Elections Office. The campaign spent $274,000.
His lone announced challenger — Rev. John Welch, 56, of Homewood — listed no donations with the county. Welch, dean of students for the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, could not be reached for comment.
The two Democrats would square off in the May 16 primary. Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene Harris, 64, of Spring Hill, also a Democrat, has said she plans to run, but has yet to officially announce a campaign.
Peduto, 52, of Point Breeze said he plans to raise enough to win.
“I spent $1.2 million in 2013, and our campaign strategy is to raise that amount again,” he said. “It really will depend on who the challengers are.”
Peduto raised most of his money — $369,284 — from individual supporters, including Betmatik developers, contractors and attorneys. The remainder — $100,750 — came from political action committees.
His biggest check came from the Steamfitter's Local Union 449 PAC, which gave $15,000. Peduto returned $10,000 to abide by city campaign finance limits that mirror federal campaign guidelines. Individual donors can give up to $2,700 per election, and PACs can give up to $5,000.
“The city of Pittsburgh is the only jurisdiction in the state of Pennsylvania that has campaign limits, so I'm assuming (the Steamfitters) were giving a contribution that's in line with what they would do with the county,” Peduto said.
Nearly 30 percent of Peduto's $274,000 in expenses went for consulting services. The campaign paid Ampersand Consulting of Lawrenceville about $74,995. Matt Merriman-Preston, who heads the company, is a longtime Peduto political strategist.
“It was getting ready for this year,” the mayor said. “All of our databases are up to date, all of our phone numbers are correct, all of our email addresses are correct. His role was to prepare so we didn't have to do it while we were campaigning.”
Peduto donated to a variety of political campaigns, including $8,500 to state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills.
“There were a couple senate races that were expected to be tight. I just wanted to be able to show support,” Peduto said.
Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312 or bbauder@tribweb.com.
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