LONGTIME PITTSBURGH ACTIVIST CARL REDWOOD is mounting a challenge against Democratic two-term Allegheny County Council District 10 incumbent DeWitt Walton.
…And ‘Liv’ Bennett won’t run for re-election
The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that longtime community activist Carl Redwood is jumping into the Allegheny County Council boxing ring, seeking a District 10 seat this November.
Only one problem: District 10 is occupied by the anti-diminutive, seven-year Councilman himself in DeWitt Walton, whose presence and voice can be, and has been heard, from a mile away.
DEWITT WALTON, the two-time incumbent for Allegheny County Council District 10, will be challenged by longtime activist Carl Redwood in the November election.
Walton and Redwood, who are both African American men, want to represent the District that includes many East End Black communities in Pittsburgh, along with Wilkinsburg, Edgewood, Forest Hills and Braddock Hills.
Walton, the incumbent, is the Democrat on the ticket. Redwood is running as an independent, and as he describes himself, a socialist.
“The rents are too damn high,” voiced Redwood, during a campaign rally at Community Forge in Wilkinsburg, July 30. “People, particularly Black people, are being forcibly removed from Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg because the rents are too high. Between 2010 and 2020, 10,000 Black people left Pittsburgh,” according to Redwood, and 2,000 Blacks left Wilkinsburg in that same time frame, Redwood declared.
“They went to Clairton, Rankin, Homestead; they went to all the mill towns where the rents are cheaper,” Redwood, standing in front of a group of supporters, said. “On Council, I want to work towards stopping gentrification and reversing that trend so we can get people back in the city.”
Redwood wasn’t afraid to say that while some Whites are being forced out due to rising rents, “I focus on Black people…I’m just more in tune with what’s happening in the Black community.”
The “focus” on Black people doesn’t seem to be a bad idea. Even though Allegheny County boasts more than 150,000 African Americans, it’s still just 13.5 percent of the total county population. That pales into comparison to, say, Franklin County, in Ohio, home of Columbus, where the Black county percentage is nearly 25 percent. Even nearby Mahoning County, home to Youngstown, Ohio, has a higher Black county percentage, at 15.3.
The relatively small Black population in Allegheny County could explain why there are just two African Americans currently on County Council—Walton and Olivia Bennett, who occupies District 13. However, the Courier has learned that Bennett, who is not the Democratic nominee for her own district come this November because she ran for County Executive earlier this year, announced on social media on July 31 that she would not be running for re-election. She had planned to run as an independent to retain her District 13 seat, a seat she had held since early 2020.
“It’s no secret that this has been a turbulent election cycle for our team,” the tweet from Bennett’s Twitter account read. “Liv has been honest about the struggles she faced (as a Black woman running for political office in Allegheny County). With that being said, Liv will not be running for re-election.”
OLIVIA BENNETT
No matter who wins the District 10 seat, there will be just one African American on the Allegheny County Council to start 2024.
The question now is, will it be the incumbent, Walton, or the political office newcomer, Redwood, a man who said he used to decry politicians from time to time.
Redwood, the longtime Hill District resident, wants to promote a “Tenant Bill of Rights” for Allegheny County. He’s tired of some landlords evicting residents seemingly for no reason, or doubling the rent to effectively force them out. He believes tenants should have a right to a lawyer or counsel when they’re being evicted. And he wants the county to work with community land trust organizations to preserve affordable housing spaces in the county, instead of county-owned land being put in the hands of a person or company that uses it for corporate means or high-priced, market-rate housing.
Redwood also said he wants to create a “People’s Assembly” to give residents a chance to tell him what they feel are the most pressing issues Council should tackle. He said the capitalistic way of thinking is hurting the area and society as a whole.
“Most people’s children today will not have a better life than their parents,” Redwood, the current Project Director of the Pittsburgh Black Worker Center, said on July 30. “The general trend is the situation’s not getting better for families of any nationality. And as we move forward with Artificial Intelligence, there might even be less jobs than there are now. But the system itself is the problem in my estimation, and I hope that you see that, too.”
For Walton’s part, he is known for being an advocate for unions and was an ardent supporter of a Citizen Police Review Board. He’s also the vice president of the local A. Philip Randolph Institute.
“I am running to put people over profits in Allegheny County,” Redwood said. “I see a future of housing for all, clean air and water for all, a livable climate for all, and health and safety for all. This future will not be built overnight, but we can start trying now.”
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