23 Apr ‘It’s a Family Crest’: Pittsburg Won’t Change Its Logo — for Now

Variations of the city of Pittsburg’s current logo. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Pittsburg officials won’t be moving forward with a new, modernized city logo just yet due to community concerns that it doesn’t accurately represent residents as well as the current one. 

The Pittsburg City Council on Monday failed to approve the final step in the process of replacing the current city logo. The new logo looks to rebrand the city to outsiders in an effort to attract business and boost economic development. 

Mayor Jelani Killings and Vice Mayor Dionne Adams favored the new logo, whereas council members Arlene Kobata and Angelica Lopez preferred using the new and old logos in different ways. Council member Juan Banales was absent. 

“Here’s where I have a problem: Just because I like it doesn’t mean it represents the majority of people in this city,” said Lopez. “For a lot of people, it’s not just a logo, it’s a family crest.” 

Officials first approved the logo at the April 7 meeting as part of a $200,000 package that has been two years in the making. The city says it includes a branding strategy to “enhance brand recognition, build trust and create a cohesive experience for internal and external audiences.” 

Lopez suggested the new logo be used for outside advertising, but also keeping the existing logo in use for operations within the community.

“That might be a hopeful and helpful solution in moving forward and keeping that existing family crest,” she said. “Because, Pittsburg, we are a community that is more so a family than anything.” 

The new logo “retains the general look of the logo,” the city says, but changes the font and modernizes it. 

Killings supported the modernized logo but said, aside from the colors, not much was different. 

Adams, who noted her experience with marketing, said using two different logos would diminish the impact of the city’s brand. 

“I don’t think it would be helpful to us as a city if we’re trying to get on the map,” she said. 

Adams also pushed back on concerns that the logo doesn’t represent many residents. The public has had the chance to weigh in on the new logo, she said, at subcommittee meetings and during market research the company conducted. 

If officials moved away from the new proposed logo and instead went in another direction, the cost could grow, according to city officials. 

A motion by Adams to approve the new logo died without a second. Council members will look to approve the logo at a later meeting with Banales present. 

Harbor Street: $2.6 million safer

The Pittsburg City Council on Monday accepted a $2.2 million Caltrans grant to fund pedestrian and traffic safety for one of the city’s streets most prone to crashes. 

The project, which goes from Harbor Street between Buchanan Road and East Third Street and serves as a route for Pittsburg Unified School District students, will enhance pedestrian crossings, street lights and traffic signals.  

Crashes on Harbor Street made up over 13% of collisions between 2019 and 2024, according to data from UC Berkeley’s Transportation Injury Mapping System. Four of those were fatal. 

“This is definitely a much-needed improvement,” said Killings. “I know that infrastructure is costly, so every dollar that we can get to bring into the city to help with our infrastructure needs is always appreciated.”

As part of the grant guidelines from Caltrans, Pittsburg matched $365,778 in funding. The project’s total budget is $2,612,700. 

Officials first applied for the grant back in October and were notified of approval in February.

The next Pittsburg City Council meeting is on May 5.