Charlotte Shields-Rossi | a&e editor

After beating out Thomas West in the primary election, Tony Moreno became the Republican nominee for the 2025 Pittsburgh mayoral election.

Moreno moved to Pittsburgh to become a police officer in 1994 after spending three years in the U.S. Army.

He spent 24 years in uniform before retiring in 2018 due to injury.

In 2021, he began his political journey. Moreno, knowing Pittsburgh to be a heavily Democratic city, decided to run as a Democrat, but was soon defeated by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey in the primary.

Undeterred, Moreno switched his political party to Republican for this year’s election, partly because a large number of Republicans wrote his name on the Republican ballot in 2021.

Although his political parties have changed, he said, his policies remain the same.

Prioritizing public safety

Being a retired police officer, public safety is paramount to Moreno.

Moreno believes safety starts with a strong and organized police presence. In his first debate against Democratic nominee Corey O’Connor, which was hosted by KDKA on Oct. 7, Moreno said hiring a police chief is a top priority. As a former police officer, he said he believes that he will have the specific skills needed for the task.

“I will go in and bring someone who is community-oriented, that is mental health-versed because that’s the biggest problem we have in the City of Pittsburgh right now, and we have to deal with that,” he said during the debate.

Moreno said that there currently is money in the city budget for a strong police force, it just isn’t being used. If elected mayor he hopes to give hiring bonuses and raises to increase personnel.

“We take money away from the people who are coming to take our grandparents to the hospital if they fall, and are coming to our neighbors’ house when someone is breaking in. We focus on taking away public safety,” he said in the debate.

Eliminating spending ‘waste’

Moreno was critical of the way Gainey handled finances during his administration. In the debate hosted by WPXI on Oct. 26, Moreno said the answer to funding important public works isn’t raising taxes, it’s eliminating waste.

“The money’s there,” Moreno said. “Our government and our legacy politicians are just lying to us.”

He offered the solution of trimming 1% of the budget for all city departments, besides public safety. Moreno was also critical of the decision to move police training funds into the “Stop the Violence” fund, an independent violence prevention program, which he said not only was ineffective in stopping violence, but defunded the police.

“We are not spending our money where it is necessary to keep the city going, keep our residents safe and keep people coming back to Pittsburgh,” Moreno said in the debate.

Cooperating with federal forces

Moreno said in the Oct. 7 debate, he plans on cooperating with ICE, if he were to become mayor

He told The Duke that Pittsburgh police have a duty to cooperate with ICE.

He disagreed, though, with the idea of President Donald Trump deploying National Guard troops in Pittsburgh.

“[I] don’t think we need them at all,” Moreno told The Duke. “We have the ability to take care of ourselves here, we are just not doing it.”

‘Shall not be infringed’

Moreno thinks we should enforce the gun laws we have now, not adding any.

In an endorsement news release for the Gun Owners of America, Moreno outlines his stance on firearms.

‘Shall not be infringed’ is very clear. There is no alternative interpretation. I stand by my oath to the country and to my city to protect the state and federal Constitution. The enforcement of laws that address violent crime is where my focus will be. I want to protect everyone’s rights, not spend tax dollars trying to take them away,” Moreno said in a news release.

‘I don’t see being the mayor through a political lense’

The Pennsylvania chapter of Gun Owners of America endorsed Moreno back in 2021 and again this year. Val Finnell, director of the Pennsylvania chapter, supports Moreno in his quest to become Pittsburgh’s next mayor.

“Pittsburgh needs a change, so instead of having the same old establishment, Democratic machine, why not have somebody like Tony [Moreno] who loves the city, who has served the city all his life as a police officer?” Finnell asked.

On the other hand, Jonathan Collins, president of Duquesne College Republicans won’t be endorsing Moreno this election because the Republican Committee of Allegheny County has not endorsed him.

“He’s kind of gone off on his own. He’s the Republican candidate, but not the endorsed Republican candidate,” Collins said.

Moreno said he doesn’t always fit in with either political party. For him it’s people over politics. He wants the mayor’s office back in the hands of the people.

“I don’t see being the mayor through a political lense,” Moreno said.

Charlotte Shields-Rossi can be reached at shieldsrossic@duq.edu