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 businessman and adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University. The race was notable for the strength of its Republican challenger and the election of such a young mayor, Ravenstahl being 27 years old at the time. ["About the Mayor," City of Pittsburgh official web site. [http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor/html/about_the_mayor.html] . Accessed May 14, 2008.] Ravenstahl was elected with a comfortable margin in an election marked by unusually cold weather and low voter turnout.

Overview

The mayor of Pittsburgh is elected to the post in four year terms. The previous mayor, Bob O'Connor, was elected to the position on November 8, 2005 and began to serve January 3, 2006. However, O'Connor was diagnosed with lymphoma of the central nervous system on July 10, 2006. [Lord, Rich, and Srikameswaran, Anita. "Mayor faces aggressive treatment for rare cancer." "Pittsburgh Post Gazette," [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06192/704954-53.stm] originally printed July 11, 2006. Accessed November 7, 2007.] The prognosis was initially good as the mayor began treatment, including chemotherapy, immediately, but O'Connor experienced many complications and died 8:55 PM local time September 1, 2006 at the age of 61. ["Bob O'Connor: A Timeline." No author given. "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06244/718448-53.stm] , originally printed Friday, September 1, 2006, accessed November 7, 2007.] Ravenstahl, president of the city council, was sworn in as the new mayor at 10:36 PM local time, and would serve until a special election would be held to determine if he should complete O'Connor's term.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held for both parties during county-wide elections on May 15, 2007. No candidates ran in the Republican primary, with DeSantis entering the race afterwards.Allegheny County Board of Elections, Official results, Primary elections of May 15, 2007. [http://www.alleghenycounty.us/elect/200705pri/el45.htm] , accessed November 7, 2007.] Although it had appeared earlier that councilman Bill Peduto, who ran against O'Connor in the 2005 primary, would challenge Ravenstahl in the Democratic Primary, he dropped out of the race and Ravenstahl won 95.94% of the Democratic primary vote.

General election

The general election was held on November 6, 2007 in unusually cold and windy weather which included the city's first snowfall of the year. [Walsh, Lawrence. "Erie gets Season's First Snowstorm." [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07311/831760-258.stm] , "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette." Printed and accessed November 7, 2007.] Voter turnout was estimated to be 28.98%, and very few problems were reported at the polls.Allegheny County Board of Elections, Official results, General election of November 6, 2007. [http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/elect/200711gen/el45.htm] , accessed November 7, 2007.] [McKinnon, Jim. "Voter Turnout light to moderate; poll problems few." [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07310/831563-100.stm] , "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette." Originally published November 6, 2007, accessed November 7, 2007.] DeSantis polled well in more affluent areas of the city, such as Squirrel Hill, while Ravenstahl commanded large portions of the vote in areas such as the Hill District. The race was more competitive than usual in the heavily Democratic city, but was sufficiently one-sided that the Associated Press declared Ravenstahl to be victorious only slightly more than one and a half hours after the polls had closed and only 20% of city precincts had reported voting totals. [Lord, Rich. "Ravenstahl declares victory in Pittsburgh mayor race." [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07310/831679-100.stm] , "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette." Originally published November 6, 2007, 9:30 PM. Accessed November 7, 2007.] DeSantis conceded defeat to Ravenstahl shortly after, around 10 PM local time. Despite losing by more than thirty percentage points in general polling, Desantis's performance was considered quite good for a Republican candidate, indeed the best performance in several decades. [Lord, Rich. "Ravenstahl cruises to 2 more years as Pittsburgh's mayor." [http://www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/pg/07311/831797-181.stm] . "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette." Originally published and accessed on November 7, 2007.]

Election box begin
title=Pittsburgh mayoral special election, 2007Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (US)
candidate = Luke Ravenstahl
votes = 43,257
percentage = 63.19
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (US)
candidate = Mark DeSantis
votes = 23,884
percentage = 34.89
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Socialist Workers Party (United States)
candidate = Ryan Scott
votes = 560
percentage = 0.80
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Libertarian Party (United States)
candidate = Tony Oliva
votes = 504
percentage = 0.74
change = Election box turnout
votes = 68,193
percentage = 28.98
change =Election box hold with party link
winner = Democratic Party (US)
swing =

References