Pittsburgh held a mayoral election on November 3, 2009. Incumbent mayor

Luke Ravenstahl Luke Robert Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980) is an American politician who served as the 59th Mayor of Pittsburgh from 2006 until 2014. A Democrat, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history in September 2006 at the age of 26. He was ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, defeated his two

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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 Bob O'Connor may refer to: * Bob O'Connor (mayor) Robert E. O'Connor Jr. (December 9, 1944 – September 1, 2006) was an American politician who was the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from January 3, 2006, until his death. Personal life and ...

and subsequently won a special election in 2007.

Primary

The

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

was held on May 19, 2009. In the Democratic primary, incumbent Mayor Ravenstahl defeated challengers

Patrick Dowd Patrick Dowd (born 1968) is a Democratic Party politician in the United States. From 2008 until 2013, he served as a member of the Pittsburgh City Council from District 7, which includes the neighborhoods of Bloomfield, East Liberty, Friendshi ...

, a Pittsburgh city councilman, and Carmen Robinson, an attorney and former police officer. The

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

primary had no names on the ballot for the office of mayor. Ravenstahl, a Democrat, won the Republican mayoral nomination with 607

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

votes; no other candidate had the 250 write-in votes required to become the Republican nominee.

General

Ravenstahl, having been nominated by both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, appeared on the general-election ballot with both affiliations. He was joined by two other candidates: businessman Franco 'Dok' Harris (the son of

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

legend

Franco Harris Franco Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection ...

), who ran under the Franco Dok Harris Party, and attorney Kevin Acklin, who ran as an independent. Ravenstahl's relationship with lobbyist

John Verbanac John Verbanac is a businessman and political operative in Pennsylvania. Verbanic earned a B.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh College of General Studies in 1990. He worked in government and politics in Washington, D.C., as a senior aide ...

became a campaign issue. Ravenstahl defeated both Harris and Acklin by a wide margin, winning over 55 percent of the vote.

Election results

Democratic primary

General election

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittsburgh Mayoral Election, 2009

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2009 Pennsylvania elections 2009 United States mayoral elections 2000s in Pittsburgh November 2007 events in the United States