Retiree's Daughter Wins Pittsburgh City Council Seat

January 15, 2010

NEWLY ELECTED – Pittsburgh City Council member Natalia Rudiak (center) with parents John and Helena Rudiak. (Photo credit: Family Photo)

The daughter of an AFSCME retiree is one of the newest members of the Pittsburgh City Council.

Natalia Rudiak, 30, ran unopposed in November after defeating three other candidates in the Democratic primary last spring.

Rudiak now represents several neighborhoods in south Pittsburgh. Her achievement came as no surprise to her father, John Rudiak, president of AFSCME retiree subchapter 8401 (Pennsylvania Retiree Chapter 13). “Through her education and our union background, she supported social causes and felt that this was the best way to further her values,” he says.

A retired traffic signal designer for the state Department of Transportation and a former secretary of Local 2459 (District Council 84), John Rudiak adds that his daughter launched an anti-sweatshop program during her time at George Washington University in Washington, DC, where she studied international affairs.

During her junior year, she attended the London School of Economics. Later, she earned a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. After college, she started the management consulting firm Civic Capital Consulting Collaborative.

In her campaign for city council, Rudiak laid out a plan for “building a better Pittsburgh.” In it, she declared her intent to strengthen building inspection enforcement, make landlords more accountable for violations and “ensure that our uniformed men and women have the right tools to do their jobs,” including GPS technology on all police cars.

Speaking to a local newspaper after her election, she said, “I’m going to focus on ridding the city of crime and help stabilize and rejuvenate neglected business districts.”