Why I Didn’t Run for Mayor Again and Instead Ran for Braddock Council

“Can we do… shouldn’t we build… can y’all vote on?” In most weak mayor systems, mayors can break ties, cut ribbons, declare emergencies, and oversee police departments. Most mayors in weak mayor systems spend their time convincing council members to vote for something that they want.

I remember during my 2019-2021 term, a proposal to regionalize the police departments came up. Consolidating multiple police departments into one wasn’t a new idea, but it was a great idea that Mon Valley officials had been bouncing around since the 90s.

“Why would we consolidate when we could build our own police department?” Council was against the idea of disbanding our part-time police department, with an amazing staff of approximately eight officers covering less than a square mile and 1700 people at the time. It was as much aspirational as it was delusional in a town where the median income is approximately $24k. A full-time one-borough police department sounded great. I hate math. I’m good at math, but I hate it, and crunching the numbers just didn’t seem financially feasible. Several council meetings later, it was apparent that the council wasn’t going to pass what felt/looked like common-sense consolidation. Some council members saw the vision, but the majority voted against the idea multiple times.

“I have a communications degree.” My last effort pushed me to put my thinking cap on. I contacted the news, neighboring communities, and I called a press conference from the desk of Mayor Chardae Jones, ensuring that all of the council members were invited. I wanted them to tell the community why their hard-earned tax money deserved to be wasted on an expensive dream. It was mid Covid, and the last place we all wanted to be was outside of the Braddock Borough Building in our various masks. The minority common sense council at the time tried its hardest. Regionalization still failed in the next vote. It would take all of the communities around us to regionalize, and a year later, for Braddock to join in 2025.

When asked why I didn’t run for mayor again, I always give two answers. First, 29-year-old me broke a record as the youngest mayor in Braddock’s history. I want someone else to break that record. The second one is that no one has to listen to a mayor in a weak mayor system. Even when overseeing the police department, the mayor still needs council approval to hire and fire officers. Breaking ties only happened twice, and after the Home Rule Charter was passed, there were seven council members on Braddock’s Council (which still feels like too many). Being a mayor in a weak mayor system is ideal for those who want to learn because you can’t break anything, and you get to learn.