PITTSBURGH — For years, the Wilkinsburg CDC has been pushing for the borough to become the city of Pittsburgh’s 91st neighborhood, and in recent months, the movement had begun to gain traction — but there has also been opposition.
Now a group of residents are looking to present a completely different vision for the area, asking their neighbors to vote to establish a “Home Rule Charter” through a government-led study.
“Wilkinsburg lost 10% of our population. We lost a large number of businesses, and that’s not the same as all the neighborhoods around us,” said Tracey Evans.
Tracey Evans is a 30-year resident and executive director for the Wilkinsburg CDC, a group that has been pushing for a merger between the borough and the city for years through a process called annexation.
“This would benefit the quality of life, the investment people make in their homes. Really, you want the property value to go up, and ours has been somewhat stagnant,” Evans said.
Supporters like the Wilkinsburg CDC said a merger with Pittsburgh will spur new business and lower property taxes.
That’s why the group is asking voters on Nov. 8 to vote no to the Home Rule Charter, a government-led study they say will only delay annexation.
“We think it is ... primarily designed to confuse voters and slow down the annexation process,” Evans said.
But supporters of the study say the 18-month-long deep dive will let residents take a closer look at the borough’s current government structure and make improvements.
“No one is happy with the status quo,” said Jacquet Kehm, a candidate for the Government Study Commission.
Residents like Jacquet Kehm, who has lived in the borough for five years, aren’t confident in an annexation because it’s going to be a longer process.
This was a very thriving community for a reason, and everyone’s trying to find the best answers to bring us back to that kind of place,” Kehm, said.
That is why Kehm volunteered to collect signatures to get the measure on the ballot and serve on the seven-member commission that will oversee the study.
“We can do better. We are saying vote yes to a government study because we can do this on our own,” Kehm said.
On Nov. 8, voters will only decide whether they want a study conducted or not, as annexation is not yet on the ballot.
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