Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania mayoral election, 2013

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2013 Pittsburgh mayoral election
Election dates
Primary election: May 21, 2013 General election: November 5, 2013
Election stats
Offices up: Mayor, city council
Total seats up: 6 (click here for other city elections)
Election type: Partisan

The city of Pittsburgh held a mayoral election on November 5, 2013. Democratic candidate and District 8 city councilman Bill Peduto defeated Republican Joshua Wander and independent candidate Lester F. Ludwig.

Candidates

General election

The following candidates appeared on the November 5, 2013 general election ballot.

• Bill Peduto
• Joshua Wander
• Lester F. Ludwig

Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bill Peduto	84.3%	36,856
	Republican	Joshua Wander	11.5%	5,012
	Independent	Lester F. Ludwig	3.5%	1,514
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.8%	340
Total Votes				43,722
Source: Allegheny County Elections Division, "Official general election results," accessed October 28, 2015

Debates

Peduto was the only candidate to attend the first of four scheduled forums on October 14, 2013.

WTAE, which had initially planned to televise the last of the four forums, announced on October 12, 2013 that it was canceling its planned coverage of the scheduled debate because Wander was unable to confirm his attendance.

Wander's residency

In late September 2013, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Wander and his family, having recently sold their Pittsburgh home, had temporarily moved overseas for business purposes. Wander said that he intended to return to Pittsburgh in time for the scheduled mayoral debates, as well as the election itself. Pittsburgh's city charter stipulated that a mayoral candidate must maintain a legal residence within the city for at least three years prior to the election. Wander said, "I still retain legal residency in the city of Pittsburgh and believe that I am a viable candidate."

Primary election

On May 21, 2013, Peduto won the Democratic mayoral primary, defeating former Auditor General Jack Wagner, State Representative Jake Wheatley and A. J. Richardson. On the same day, Wander won the uncontested Republican primary.

Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA Democratic Primary, 2013
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bill Peduto	51.8%	23,650
Jake Wheatley	7.7%	3,508
Jack Wagner	39.6%	18,094
A. J. Richardson	0.6%	294
Write-in	0.2%	103
Total Votes		45,649
Source: Allegheny County Elections Division

Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA Republican Primary, 2013
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Joshua Wander	77.1%	2,018
Write-in	22.9%	598
Total Votes		2,616
Source: Allegheny County Elections Division

Early developments

On March 1, 2013, incumbent Luke Ravenstahl announced that he would not seek re-election, having announced 11 days earlier that he intended to seek a second full term in the mayor's office. His decision to exit the race coincided with allegations of possible misappropriation of funds in the city police bureau's Special Events and Finance offices, which were under investigation by the FBI and IRS. Ravenstahl denied foreknowledge of the incident and said that federal investigators assured him that he was not a target of their investigation. As a result of Ravenstahl's withdrawal, more candidates were expected to enter the Democratic primary.

Relevant issues

Act 47 state oversight status

Since December 2003, Pittsburgh has been classified by Pennsylvania state government as a "financially distressed municipality" under the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act (Act 47). Act 47 "empowers the [state] Department of Community and Economic Development to declare certain municipalities as financially distressed, provides for the restructuring of debt of financially distressed municipalities, limits the ability of financially distressed municipalities to obtain government funding, authorizes municipalities to participate in Federal debt adjustment actions and bankruptcy actions under certain circumstances and provides for consolidation or merger of contiguous municipalities to relieve financial distress."

On June 11, 2013, Peduto requested that state lawmakers uphold Pittsburgh's Act 47 status, citing reduction of the city's $700 million unfunded pension liability and $15 million structural deficit as yet unachieved goals that necessitated the continued presence of the Act 47 team. Mayor Ravenstahl argued that the city should be released from Act 47 oversight.

Election history

2009

On November 3, 2009, incumbent Ravenstahl, who assumed office as the result of a special election in 2007, defeated challengers Franco Dok Harris and Kevin Acklin to win his first full term in office. Ravenstahl appeared on the ballot as both a Democrat and a Republican, having been nominated by both parties.

Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat/Republican	Luke Ravenstahl Incumbent	55.2%	28,582
	Independent	Franco Dok Harris	25.3%	13,094
	Independent	Kevin Acklin	19.2%	9,918
	None	Write-in	0.3%	168
Total Votes				51,762

About Pittsburgh

As of the 2012 U.S. Census estimate, Pittsburgh is the 61st largest city with a population of 306,211. There are nine city council members, all of whom are elected by district. The city follows a mayor-council form of government. The mayor earns an annual salary of $108,000. Pittsburgh has a history of electing Democratic mayors. Republicans have not won a mayoral contest in the city since 1934.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pittsburgh's unemployment rate as of July 2013 was 7.5%, compared to the state rate of 7.8% and the national rate of 7.7%.

See also

• Pittsburgh city council elections, 2013

External links

Official campaign websites:

• Bill Peduto
• Joshua Wander (dead link)