The Mayoral election of 1977 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 1, 1977. The incumbent mayor, Richard Caliguiri, had ascended to the office just 10 months earlier, after longtime mayor Pete Flaherty resigned to take a position in the newly formed Jimmy Carter White House. The former City Council President chose to renounce his lifelong Democratic Party membership for the election and run for his first full term as an Independent.

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

1977 Pittsburgh mayoral election

← 1973 November 1, 1977 1981 →

Nominee Richard Caliguiri Tom Foerster Joe Cosetti Party Independent Democratic Republican Popular vote 68,902 62,860 12,205 Percentage 47.9% 43.7% 8.5%

Mayor before election Richard Caliguiri Independent Elected Mayor Richard Caliguiri Independent

Close

Allegheny County Commissioner Tom Foerster, a powerful party leader, won the Democratic Primary. He was victorious in a contentious battle over city Controller Frank Luccino and fellow city Councilman Jim Sims.

Caliguiri had originally planned not to seek reelection, but a personal clash with Foerster over environmental issues and mass transit funding led to Caliguiri reentering the race; because the filing deadline for the primary had already passed, the Democrat was forced to run as an independent. With Republican attorney Joe Cosetti a nonfactor in the heavily Democratic city, Caliguiri emerged victorious in a highly contested race between two fixtures of area politics.^[1] A total of 143,967 votes were cast.