2009 Pittsburgh mayoral election

Summary

Pittsburgh held a mayoral election on November 3, 2009. Incumbent mayor Luke Ravenstahl, a Democrat, defeated his two independent challengers by a wide margin. The 2009 election was the first regular-cycle election in which Ravenstahl participated; he was originally appointed as an interim mayor to succeed Bob O'Connor and subsequently won a special election in 2007.

2009 Pittsburgh mayoral election

← 2007 (special) November 5, 2009 2013 →
 
Candidate Luke Ravenstahl Franco Dok Harris Kevin Acklin
Party Democratic Franco Dok Harris Independent
Alliance Republican
Popular vote 28,528 13,060 9,903
Percentage 55.2% 25.3% 19.2%

Mayor before election

Luke Ravenstahl
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Luke Ravenstahl
Democratic

Primary edit

The primary election was held on May 19, 2009. In the Democratic primary, incumbent Mayor Ravenstahl defeated challengers Patrick Dowd, a Pittsburgh city councilman, and Carmen Robinson, an attorney and former police officer.[1]

The Republican primary had no names on the ballot for the office of mayor. Ravenstahl, a Democrat, won the Republican mayoral nomination with 607 write-in votes; no other candidate had the 250 write-in votes required to become the Republican nominee.[2]

General edit

Ravenstahl, having been nominated by both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, appeared on the general-election ballot with both affiliations.[2] He was joined by two other candidates: businessman Franco 'Dok' Harris (the son of Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris), who ran under the Franco Dok Harris Party, and attorney Kevin Acklin, who ran as an independent.[3] Ravenstahl's relationship with lobbyist John Verbanac became a campaign issue.[4]

Ravenstahl defeated both Harris and Acklin by a wide margin, winning over 55 percent of the vote.[5]

Election results edit

Democratic primary edit

2009 Pittsburgh mayoral election, Democratic primary[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Luke Ravenstahl (incumbent) 26,880 59.19
Democratic Patrick Dowd 12,610 27.76
Democratic Carmen Robinson 5,926 13.04
Total votes 45,416 100

General election edit

2009 Pittsburgh general mayoral election[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic/Republican Luke Ravenstahl (incumbent) 28,528 55.22%
Franco Dok Harris Franco Dok Harris 13,060 25.28
Independent Kevin Acklin 9,903 19.17
Write-in candidates 168 0.33
Total votes 51,659 100

References edit

  1. ^ Lord, Rich; Roddy, Dennis B.; McNulty, Timothy (May 20, 2009). "Ravenstahl cruises past two rivals for Democratic nomination". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  2. ^ a b Boren, Jeremy (June 8, 2009). "Pittsburgh's Democratic mayor earns Republican nomination". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
  3. ^ "City's three mayoral candidates agree to televised debate". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. October 6, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Lord, Rich (October 23, 2009). "Orie praises Verbanac's pension help". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ^ a b SUMMARY REPORT - Allegheny County - 2009 General Election. Allegheny County Board of Elections. November 3, 2009. Archived from the original on November 8, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  6. ^ SUMMARY REPORT - Allegheny County - 2009 Primary Election. Allegheny County Board of Elections. June 5, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
Preceded by
2007
Pittsburgh mayoral election
2009
Succeeded by
2013