2009 Pittsburgh mayoral election

2009 Pittsburgh mayoral election

November 5, 2009

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

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.

Primary

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

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

Democratic primary

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

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

1. Lord, Rich; Roddy, Dennis B.; McNulty, Timothy (May 20, 2009). "Ravenstahl cruises past two rivals for Democratic nomination". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
2. 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. 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