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

Luke Ravenstahl

Luke Robert Ravenstahl is the current Mayor of Pittsburgh. In September 2006, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history at the age of 26. He is among the youngest mayors of a major city in American history....

, a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, defeated his two independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 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

Interim

Interim is an album by British rock band The Fall, compiled from live and studio material and released in 2004. It features the first officially released versions of "Clasp Hands", "Blindness" and "What About Us?" — all of which were later included on the band's next studio album Fall Heads Roll —...

 mayor to succeed Bob O'Connor and subsequently won a special election in 2007

Pittsburgh mayoral special election, 2007

The Mayoral election of 2007 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was a special election held on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. The incumbent mayor, Luke Ravenstahl of the Democratic Party faced Republican challenger Mark DeSantis, a telecommunications executive and adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University...

.

Primary

The primary election

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

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

Patrick Dowd

Patrick Dowd is a Democratic Party politician in the United States. He is currently serving as a member of the Pittsburgh City Council from District 7, which includes the neighborhoods of Bloomfield, East Liberty, Friendship, Garfield, Highland Park, Lawrenceville, Morningside, Polish Hill, and...

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

The Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

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

Write-in candidate

A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...

 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

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 legend Franco Harris

Franco Harris

Franco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall...

), who ran under the Franco Dok Harris Party, and attorney Kevin Acklin

Kevin Acklin

Kevin Acklin , a lawyer and community activist, was the Independent candidate for Mayor the City of Pittsburgh in 2009. He was born in South Oakland, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....

, who ran as an independent. Ravenstahl's relationship with lobbyist John Verbanac

John Verbanac

John Verbanac is a businessman and prominent 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, DC as a senior aide and political strategist for two U.S...

 became a campaign issue.

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

Democratic primary

General election

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| style="width: 130px" | Democratic/Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

| | Luke Ravenstahl

Luke Ravenstahl

Luke Robert Ravenstahl is the current Mayor of Pittsburgh. In September 2006, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history at the age of 26. He is among the youngest mayors of a major city in American history....

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