After several years of relative quiet and a general election season in which they were disavowed by candidates at the top of the ballot, Democratic Socialists suffered a setback Tuesday in their bid to gain some influence on Allegheny County Council.
The candidates, running as independents, failed to dislodge a two-term incumbent in one district and missed an opportunity to seize an open seat nearby.
The stage for the movement’s return to politics was Districts 10 and 13, both of which are mostly within the city of Pittsburgh. In the former, incumbent DeWitt Walton fended off a challenge by longtime community activist and independent socialist Carl Redwood.
In the latter, independent socialist candidate Sam Schmidt lost to Democrat David Bonaroti in a contest to replace outgoing councilor Liv Bennett.
"I think voters want a solid government that's accountable, that's willing to work and build a collaborative effort and move our collective agenda forward," Walton said.
The longtime union activist has more than three decades of experience with the United Steelworkers. He faced a three-way race in the Democratic primary, fending off challengers Carlos Thomas and Eric Smith by winning less than 40% of the vote.
Walton will return for a third term on council, where he has been a sometimes irascible presence often at odds with a faction of progressive Democrats on such issues as a living wage for county workers. But he was also a driving force for creating a review board for the county police, and said he will continue to advocate for diversity among county council staff.
Walton’s foe, fellow Hill District resident Carl Redwood, has long advocated that the neighborhood benefit from the latest round of redevelopment around the site of the former Civic Arena — a position that has made him a thorn in the side of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Prior to that, he was active in neighborhood civic groups and socialist movements, though his county council run was the first campaign he undertook on his own behalf.
Redwood also received endorsements from progressive Congresswoman Summer Lee and county councilor at-large Bethany Hallam. Walton criticized them for failing to support the Democratic ticket, despite their party affiliations.
"I think that's a problem," he said. "They'll have to be held accountable."
The race in District 13, meanwhile, pitted Democratic nominee Bonaroti, a Google employee whose background also includes work as a state legislative aide, against Sam Schmidt, a U.S. Army veteran who has been an activist and organizer working on behalf of the city’s homeless population. Both were first-time candidates, seeking to replace one of council’s most progressive members, Liv Bennett, who did not run due to a county executive bid and difficulties meeting filing requirements.
That left Bonaroti as the lone candidate running in the primary to represent the district, which includes Bellevue and a broad swath of Pittsburgh through the North Side, Downtown, and some areas to the east and south. Schmidt later entered the race as an independent, with Bennett’s blessing.
Bonaroti campaigned as a mainline liberal who favors policies to encourage the construction of housing, a ban on single-use plastic bags, and full funding for the county’s community colleges.
Bonaroti could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tuesday’s results are the latest chapter in the modern history of the region’s Democratic Socialists.
The movement enjoyed a surge in popularity after the 2016 presidential election bid of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and the subsequent victory of Donald Trump. Locally the movement reached the apex of its influence in 2018, where it helped elect Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee to the state House of Representatives.
Its influence later waned amid internal feuding: Innamorato herself has said she dropped her membership in 2019 and repudiated the group after it issued a controversial statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following attacks on civilians by Hamas last month.
Still, the organization rallied behind Redwood and Schmidt, issuing a statement even before the polls closed that, win or lose, they “have set a historic precedent for the way campaigns are run in Allegheny County and beyond, reflecting a shift in politics that will impact and influence local government throughout the coming years.”
And the socialist label notwithstanding, both Redwood and Schmidt did a solid job of raising money.
Walton raised just over $87,000 — a whopping sum for a county council race, and one swelled by five-digit contributions from local building trades unions. Redwood raised a competitive sum of slightly more than $61,000, thanks in no small part to a $15,000 donation from a supporter in North Carolina. Similarly, Schmidt raised roughly $17,000 to Bonaroti’s $23,000.
Both Schmidt and Redwood said prior to the election that some of their aspirations — such as rent-control ordinances to protect struggling tenants — might not be within county council’s power.
“We have to have a more visionary picture of what’s possible,” Redwood said when launching his campaign.
