Duquesne Mayor: Nesby Says People ‘Want Better’

Former mayor is an “empathetic” listener: “Trust takes time”

By Tom Leturgey
The Tube City Almanac
May 13, 2025
Posted in: Duquesne News

• Related Story: Adams Says City Has ‘Stability’

Nickole Nesby served as mayor of Duquesne from 2017 to 2021 and is seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 20 primary. She argues that the city needs closer management of its finances. (Submitted photo)

Four years after losing a re-election bid, Nickole Nesby is back on the ballot to be mayor of the city of Duquesne. Nesby is seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 20 primary.

After one term in office and breaking barriers as the city’s first Black woman mayor, Nesby lost the Democratic primary in 2021 to R. Scott Adams, who went onto win the November election. Adams is running for re-election this year.

Nesby has long criticized city leaders for what she calls “decades of neglect and corruption” and alleges that two of the people running against her in the primary in 2021 wouldn’t have been eligible to serve if they had won.

Nesby said that “concerned citizens” came to her recently and asked her to run again in hopes of improving the city’s financial accountability. Nesby said that when she took office in 2018, the city “had a deficit of $328,000” and when she left in 2022, Duquesne had a “$915,000 surplus.”

She is critical of the city’s current leadership, and she wants more community and economic development.

“One third of the city’s land is owned by Allegheny County,” she said. “The city maintains that land without any reimbursement.”

Nesby said that when she took office, the city’s police department was short-staffed and a large amount of overtime pay “drained the budget.” She also said the city needs closer management of its finances. She said that when she took office, employees were using the city’s credit cards to pay for fuel for their personal vehicles and other expenses.

Nesby, who chairs the Center for Environmental and Climate Justice (PGH) at National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that crime in Duquesne was “reduced by 34 percent in my administration.”

Since her time away from elected office, Nesby said she has been working to improve living conditions for people in the Mon Valley through activism with several groups, including 412 Justice, Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Moms Demand Action, and Take Action Advocacy Group.

Nesby said she considered running for State Senate District 45 to replace State Sen. Jim Brewster, but she did not appear on the April 2024 ballot.

Communication and public safety are priorities for Nesby if she were to return to the mayor’s office, with a goal that “Every person is safe.”

She alleged that under the current administration, there are more homicides in the city.

If she returns to office, she said she would like to implement a program where any child in the city would be “only a 10-minute walk” to a designated safe space.

Nesby said she is concerned about environmental conditions in the city, such as lead-based paint on fences around the Duquesne Education Center, which she said is dangerous to pupils’ health. She also said the quality of water from the city’s water department remains below par, and argued it has been bad “for 30 years.”

She pointed to a 412 Justice study released in 2023 that compared the city’s water to other communities in the Mon Valley and beyond. Nesby said she won’t be satisfied until there are “zero” contaminants in the city’s water supply.

And she wants to work with Pittsburghers for Public Transit to improve regional transit routes in Duquesne. She said when she was mayor, Pittsburgh Regional Transit attempted to cut bus service; however, some of those routes were restored, namely for Hilltop Parkview residents.

In addition, Nesby said she wants to help the construction of affordable housing in the city. While in office, she said she worked with the African American Mayors Association and other non-profits to find ways to improve affordable housing stock in Duquesne.

She also wants to partner with agencies that provide utility assistance and education for prospective homeowners. Many first-time buyers “don’t understand the difference between flexible and fixed mortgages,” she said.

In addition to her service as Duquesne mayor, Nesby has worked as a field representative for former U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle and as a customer service representative and manager for the Internal Revenue Service in Pittsburgh.

“Empathetic” listening to residents and transparency are important, she said. “This is more of a long-term priority because trust takes time. We want to do what’s best for people.”

Nesby said that if re-elected mayor, she has “realistic” goals for the people of Duquesne. “People want better,” she said.

Tom Leturgey is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh and the editor of KSWA Digest, the online news and features home of the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance. His work also appears in The Valley Mirror and other publications.

Originally published May 13, 2025.

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