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Pittsburgh held amayoral election on November 3, 2009. Incumbent mayorLuke Ravenstahl, aDemocrat, defeated his twoindependent 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 succeedBob O'Connor and subsequently won aspecial election in 2007.
Theprimary election was held on May 19, 2009. In the Democratic primary, incumbent Mayor Ravenstahl defeated challengersPatrick Dowd, a Pittsburgh city councilman, and Carmen Robinson, an attorney and former police officer.[1]
TheRepublican primary had no names on the ballot for the office of mayor. Ravenstahl, a Democrat, won the Republican mayoral nomination with 607write-in votes; no other candidate had the 250 write-in votes required to become the Republican nominee.[2]
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 ofPittsburgh Steelers legendFranco Harris), who ran under the Franco Dok Harris Party, and attorney Kevin Acklin, who ran as an independent.[3] Ravenstahl's relationship with lobbyistJohn Verbanac became a campaign issue.[4]
Ravenstahl defeated both Harris and Acklin by a wide margin, winning over 55 percent of the vote.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Luke Ravenstahl (incumbent) | 26,880 | 59.06 | |
| Democratic | Patrick Dowd | 12,610 | 27.71 | |
| Democratic | Carmen Robinson | 5,926 | 13.02 | |
| Write-in | 94 | 0.21 | ||
| Total votes | 45,510 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic/Republican | Luke Ravenstahl (incumbent) | 28,582 | 55.22% | |
| Franco Dok Harris | Franco Dok Harris | 13,094 | 25.30 | |
| Independent | Kevin Acklin | 9,918 | 19.16 | |
| Write-in | 168 | 0.32 | ||
| Total votes | 51,762 | 100 | ||
| Preceded by 2007 | Pittsburgh mayoral election 2009 | Succeeded by 2013 |
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