Welcomed by bagpipes, her supporters and her now fellow councilmembers, Erika Strassburger was sworn into Pittsburgh City Council Thursday.

The Democrat, who ran as an independent after failing to secure District 8 committee member’s vote, will be taking former Councilman Dan Gilman’s seat which encompasses Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Point Breeze, and parts of Oakland. 

Beating the nearest competitor by over 30 points and winning every precinct, independent candidate Erika Strassburger fended off both parties’ nominees and another independent to take her former boss Dan Gilman’s old seat on Pittsburgh city council.

Strassburger won 64 percent of the vote in the District 8 race, which includes the neighborhoods on Point Breeze and Shady Side as well as parts of Squirrel Hill and Oakland. Democrat Sonja Finn, a chef and restaurateur captured just under 28 percent. Republican Rennick Remley scored seven percent of the vote, and independent Marty Healey took one percent.

Heading into the last few days of special election campaigning for Pittsburgh’s open city council seat, one candidate doubled down on their financial edge with another big month of fundraising. 

According to city mandated campaign finance reports, independent candidate Erika Strassburger brought in $52,111 in the last month before March 6 special election for Pittsburgh’s District 8 city council seat. 

In three candidate forums last week, the four candidates in Pittsburgh City Council’s District 8 special election traded ideas and occasional blows as the campaign winds down into the final days. 

With the election scheduled for March 6, the race to fill former councilman, now mayoral chief of staff Dan Gilman’s East End seat has attracted a spirited race between Democrat Sonja Finn, Republican Rennick Remley and independent candidates Erika Strassburger and Marty Healey. 

As council wound down last Wednesday, Councilman Reverend Ricky Burgess (District 9) took the time give a brief statement to the emptying chambers, down to only the necessary five to have quorum.

“Over the years council has ceded a lot of the authority overseeing projects to city planning, to other entities,” Burgess said. “If council has the appetite to, we could always change the code and put more approval in our hands. I’m open to that conversation.”