 In 2018, during protests over the shooting of an unarmed African American teen by a white police officer in East Pittsburgh, Peconi authored a social media post that urged law enforcement to "bring the hoses" against the protesters.Calls for her resignation resulted in city council formally requesting the state legislature to remove her from office.On May 21, 2019 Peconi-Biriccochi was defeated by Councilman Joseph Bia II in the Democratic primary, effectively ending her bid for re-election in the heavily Democratic city.