Bruce A. Kraus is an American politician and businessman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

. He has served since January 2008 on Pittsburgh City Council, representing the 3rd district neighborhoods of South Side Flats, South Side Slopes, Beltzhoover

Beltzhoover (Pittsburgh)

Beltzhoover is a neighborhood in southern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in an area known as the South Hills.The area is named for George Beltzhoover who was a farmer there in the early portion of the 19th century. The community contains a park called McKinley Park...

, Knoxville

Knoxville (Pittsburgh)

Knoxville is a south neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has a zip code of 15210, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 3 .-History:...

, Arlington

Arlington (Pittsburgh)

Arlington is a south neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The zip code used by residents is 15210, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 3 . The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire houses 22 engine in Arlington. The city has discussed the possibility of...

, Arlington Heights

Arlington Heights (Pittsburgh)

For the Monroe County community, see Arlington Heights, Pennsylvania.Arlington Heights is a south neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The zip code used by residents is 15210, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 3...

, Allentown

Allentown (Pittsburgh)

Allentown is a south neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The zip code used by residents is 15210, and has representation on the Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 3 .-History:...

, Mount Oliver

Mount Oliver (Pittsburgh)

Mount Oliver is a south neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has a zip code of 15210, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 3 . It is adjacent to, but distinct from, the borough of Mount Oliver...

, Central Oakland, Carrick

Carrick (Pittsburgh)

Carrick is a south neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is served by two zip codes, 15210 and 15227, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 4 with a part in District 3.Located between the suburbs of the South Hills and...

 and Saint Clair.

Career history

Prior to becoming a Councilman, Kraus worked as an interior design

Interior design

Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...

 consultant and also served as president of the South Side Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

. He was a member of Mayor Tom Murphy

Tom Murphy (mayor)

Thomas J. "Tom" Murphy, Jr. is a Democratic politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From January 1994 until January 2006 he served as mayor of Pittsburgh...

's Graffiti

Graffiti

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....

 Task Force and Clean Pittsburgh Commission.

Kraus first ran for the seat vacated by District Judge Gene Ricciardi in the 2006 special election. Though he was endorsed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...

, his bid was unsuccessful. In 2007, he ran again against incumbent Jeff Koch and won the primary. Kraus, a Democrat, faced only a Libertarian opponent, Mark Rauterkus, who was running simultaneously for Pittsburgh City Controller. Kraus won and was sworn in on January 7, 2008, as part of a trio of new Council members (including Patrick Dowd

Patrick Dowd

Patrick Dowd is a Democratic Party politician in the United States. He is currently serving as a member of the Pittsburgh City Council from District 7, which includes the neighborhoods of Bloomfield, East Liberty, Friendship, Garfield, Highland Park, Lawrenceville, Morningside, Polish Hill, and...

 and Ricky Burgess). He sought re-election in 2011, facing another Democratic primary against Jeff Koch, who had the support of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

Luke Ravenstahl

Luke Robert Ravenstahl is the current Mayor of Pittsburgh. In September 2006, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history at the age of 26. He is among the youngest mayors of a major city in American history....

. Kraus won 54% of the vote to Koch's 38%, with two other candidates each receiving 4%. No Republican or third-party candidate has filed for the seat so Kraus will run unopposed in the general election in November 2011.

As a city councilman, Kraus has been active in legislating quality-of-life and civil rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

 issues, including drafting and passing the city's first domestic partnership

Domestic partnership

A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...

 registry. He has also been involved in trying to curb public drunkenness and overcrowding in South Side bars. In September 2009, City Council passed his ordinance banning public urination, creating the first such ban in Pittsburgh. He has authored ordinances increasing open-container fines and regulating the installation of sidewalk cafes.

Kraus is the city’s first openly gay elected official. He lives in Pittsburgh's South Side Flats neighborhood.