History was made in Carnegie Monday night, as Sam Bigham, 23, was sworn-in as the borough’s youngest mayor.
An overflow crowd gathered in the borough council chamber as former mayor and current District Magistrate Jack Kobistek administered the oath of office.
At 23, Bigham is also the youngest mayor currently serving in Pennsylvania.
“It’s not everyday that someone my age decides to run for office like this,” Bigham said. “I think I can do a lot to get the town some positive attention and get people talking about us.
“It’s exciting and I’m excited about putting some energy towards this.”
Bigham’s dedication to public service is reflected in his bio.
As a junior council person and intern for Carnegie, he helped to write the borough’s climate action plan.
He also interned in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Rep. Anita Kulik (D-45) and in Washington for California Congressman Lou Correa (D-CA-46), where he gained firsthand experience in the legislative process.
He also served as an Allegheny County Democratic Committee member and field organizer for the Pennsylvania Democratic Committee.
Bigham grew up in Carnegie and has deep roots there, including a great-grandfather who was the president of the Carnegie National Bank, now Citizens Bank.
Bigham attended Carnegie Elementary and Carlynton High School. In 2024, he received dual degrees in history and political science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), where he served as editor of the school newspaper, The Penn, leading a team of writers covering the financial challenges faced by IUP and other universities. As a writer for West Hills Gazette’s predecessor, Gazette 2.0, he covered school and local news.
He’s currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University.
In his current role as executive director of the Carnegie Community Development Corp., he’s working to revitalize Carnegie’s image by organizing events and applying for grants to support initiatives to keep Carnegie’s Main Street vibrant. It’s a position he intends to keep post-inauguration, saying “The two roles mesh very well together.”
Bigham hopes to lay the groundwork for a Carnegie comeback, but admits the job is not without its challenges.
“It will be the challenges that every small Main Street’s facing — rising costs, people not being able to afford as much as they used to,” he said.
Bigham decided to run for Carnegie mayor after incumbent Stacie Riley chose not to run for reelection. A grassroots campaign paid off, with Bigham winning 76% of the vote in a two-way Democratic primary and winning enough Republican write-ins to run unopposed in the general election.
If anything, Bigham points out his age was an asset.
“People were excited about it,” he said. “When it comes to experience, I started out as a junior council person, I’ve interned for the borough, interned for other levels of government, so I have a fair amount of experience.
“I studied this in college; I’m getting a masters in this. It’s an asset that I already know members of council and elected officials at different levels, so I’m comfortable I’ll be able to work with everybody.”
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