Meet District 2 Councilwoman, Theresa Smith

Theresa Smith of Westwood represents the neighborhoods of District 2 on Pittsburgh City Council. She won, by an overwhelming margin, the special election this past February to fill the seat vacated by Dan Deasy, now a state representative. Smith is seeking re-election to a full term.

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Accomplishments
In the short period since her swearing in, Theresa and her staff have been busy working on improvements for District 2. Accomplishments to date include:

• Secured funding for Sheraden bridge renovations.
• Secured paving projects including, but not limited to:
  • Middletown Road
  • Chartiers Avenue
  • Allender (Banksville)
• Condemned and demolished abandoned buildings
• Campaign finance reform
• Introduced vacant property legislation

On-Going & Future Efforts
Theresa is committed to continuing initiatives undertaken over the past ten weeks. Among these are:

• Town hall meetings in every community with community leaders and community development corporations to discuss issues, concerns and vision for the West End communities.
• Developing plans for a recreation center for the whole of District 2 possibly using an existing building or building a new structure.
• Continuing discussions with state leaders to more aggressively pursue payments from nonprofits in the city.
• Securing funding to provide police officers to walk in the city's residential communities.

Background
Theresa is a 20-year community advocate, volunteer and mother. She is president of the Crafton Heights, Westwood, Ridgemont Community Council, vice president of the Westwood/Oakwood Athletic Association and for the last three years has served as secretary for the 28th Ward Democratic Committee. She is still active in Sheraden and Banksville community organizations. She is married, mother of three and grandmother of three. She serves on several school and community committees. Over the last two decades, her volunteerism has spanned Allegheny County, and in some cases, the state, earning her results and recognition.

In her role as the West End coordinator for the Pittsburgh Campaign for Student Success, she helped to create jobs and formed a team working toward creating a community multipurpose center to serve District 2 students. She is also a Weed & Seed committee member; the West End coordinator for the Moms & Cops program and was instrumental in working with elected officials and community leaders to reopen the Zone 6 police station.

Building upon her platform that an engaged, active community is a stable one, Smith intends to continue the initiatives that have made her a highly reliable community advocate. She plans to advance her efforts to develop programs to unite communities, maintain a strong police presence and reduce neighborhood blight. In fact, Smith formed the South West Enhancing Environment Program (SWEEP) and the South West Eco-Evolution Team (SWEET). The Pittsburgh native continues to work with local community leaders to form a new community development corporation.

Click here for more pictures of Theresa in the community.