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TheMayoral election of 1977 inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania was held onTuesday, November 1, 1977. The incumbent mayor,Richard Caliguiri, had ascended to the office just 10 months earlier, after longtime mayorPete Flaherty resigned to take a position in the newly formedJimmy CarterWhite House. The formerCity Council President chose to renounce his lifelongDemocratic Party membership for the election and run for his first full term as an Independent.
Allegheny County CommissionerTom 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.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Richard Caliguiri (incumbent) | 68,902 | 47.9 | ||
| Democratic | Tom Foerster | 62,860 | 43.7 | ||
| Republican | Joe Cosetti | 12,205 | 8.5 | ||
| Turnout | 143,967 | ||||
| Preceded by 1973 | Pittsburgh mayoral election 1977 | Succeeded by 1981 |
