The Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito explained the origin of her recent analysis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Zito recently penned an opinion editorial titled: “The fall of a great American city: The societal and political decay that has upended Pittsburgh.” In a subsequent interview on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom Friday, she admitted that as a “Yinzer” herself, meaning someone from Pittsburgh, “to write the story was incredibly hard.”
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“Our former mayors have all been pretty good managers; they understood that ideology was not the driving force, but governing and managing the city was,” Zito said. “And there’s a problem right now within the city government where you don’t see that sort of same understanding that and understanding that governing it has to eclipse politics.”
Zito laments the increase in homelessness and crime in the city in her editorial. As a result, there is a 22.5% vacancy rate there.
“There’s just this sense that you can’t say anything without being attacked, without being called a bigot because you disagree with the handling of the city,” Zito said.
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Mayor Ed Gainey (D) has been in office since January 2022. According to Zito, he is refusing to talk to the city’s crown jewel: the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, because it won’t unionize with the Service Employees International Union. UMPC is the city’s largest employer.
The SEIU paid $350,000 into Gainey’s campaign, making it his largest contributor.
