Luke Ravenstahl

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Luke Ravenstahl
In office
September 1, 2006 – Present
Preceded by Bob O'Connor
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born February 6, 1980 (age 27)
Troy Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Political party Democrat
Spouse Erin Lynn Feith

Luke Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980, in Troy Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the current Mayor of Pittsburgh. In September 2006, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history at the age of 26.[1] He is also the youngest mayor of any major city in American history.[2]

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Luke Ravenstahl graduated from North Catholic High School in 1998 and Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) in December 2002. Prior to W&J, Ravenstahl attended Mercyhurst College for one year and then transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. Ravenstahl played baseball and football in high school, played football at Mercyhurst, and was the kicker for the W&J football team. Following graduation from W&J, Ravenstahl worked as an account manager for a courier service.[3]

Ravenstahl married Erin Lynn Feith in July 2004, and the couple lives in the Northside district of Pittsburgh, in the Summer Hill neighborhood. Ravenstahl is Catholic and attends mass at Holy Wisdom Parish in Pittsburgh's Northside.[1]

Ravenstahl's family has a history of involvement with politics. His father is a distict judge, and his grandfather was a state representative.[4] At age 23, just four months after graduating from college, Ravenstahl ran for the District 1 seat on Pittsburgh's City Council in the April 2003 primary and defeated incumbent Barbara Burns. He ran unopposed in the November 2003 general election.[5] Ravenstahl assumed his seat on council in January 2004, and in December 2005, he was elected City Council President, a role he held until he became mayor. Ravenstahl, per provisions in the city's charter, ascended from the office of City Council President to Mayor on September 1, 2006 following the death of mayor Bob O'Connor.

Due to ambiguous language in the city's charter, a controversy developed about how long Ravenstahl could temporarily serve as mayor before an election had to be held. Ravenstahl stated his desire to fulfill the remainder of O'Connor's term.[6][7][8] The charter refers to holding a new election when someone ascends to mayor through a vacancy but makes no mention of serving out the full term. It was unclear when the election could or should be held due to a confusing phrase that says the "vacancy in the mayor's office shall be filled at the next election permitted by law", yet not elaborating on what "permitted by law" means.[9] Ravenstahl instructed the city's legal department to quickly obtain a decision as to when the election should be held.[10] On October 12, 2006, the Allegheny County Board of Elections decided unanimously that mayoral candidates would compete in the May 15, 2007, primary election followed by the November 6, 2007, general election. The winner of the general election will take office after the election results are certified, and the term will end in January 2010.[11]

In his first official act as mayor, Ravenstahl ordered the city flag at all city locations to be flown at half staff and declared the city in a state of mourning. Ravenstahl and deputy mayor Yarone Zober had been coordinating city government since the July 2006 diagnosis of O'Connor in which the former mayor was limited to the confines of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Shadyside while he attempted recovery.

Media coverage of Ravenstahl has included a feature story in the New York Times, and an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman on September 14, 2006. Ravenstahl was concerned about how appropriate the coverage would appear in the wake of O'Connor's death, but O'Connor's widow encouraged him to participate in the media coverage and continue O'Connor's work as a "cheerleader" for Pittsburgh.[cite this quote]

In January 2007, radio and television talk show host John McIntire wrote in his Pittsburgh politics blog MacYapper that on Halloween night 2005 at Heinz Field, then-City Councilman Ravenstahl shoved a Pittsburgh police officer and was led away in handcuffs but released shortly after. The blog speculated that Bob O'Connor, who was not yet mayor, played a role in keeping the incident quiet. The rumors spread to other Pittsburgh politics blogs, forcing Ravenstahl to go public to dispel the rumors.[12] Ravenstahl's response induced a large amount of mainstream media coverage of the incident. During a radio interview with KDKA, Ravenstahl responded to the allegations, saying that McIntire had lied to hurt him politically. McIntire responded by saying that the mayor's response further brought into question his maturity.[13]

Robert McNeilly, Pittsburgh's police chief when the incident occurred, publicly questioned how the case was handled, saying that the behavior of both Ravenstahl and Pittsburgh Police Officer Mark Hoehn should have been scrutinized more closely. "Admits to drinking with several of his friends. Becomes argumentative with a police officer. Using vulgarity towards a police officer. Led away in handcuffs," McNeilly said. "How many 25-year-old young men who have been drinking, who were just vulgar with the police and shouting at the police, would be un-handcuffed and released?" McNeilly said that both word of an unusual situation like this not traveling up the chain of command, as well as the lack of documentation, are out of the ordinary.[14]

  1. ^ Roddy, Dennis B.. "Ravenstahl sworn in as Pittsburgh mayor", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2006-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  2. ^ Highfield, David (2006-09-04). Ravenstahl Among Youngest Mayors Ever. KDKA-TV. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  3. ^ Lord, Rich, Bill Toland. "New mayor Luke Ravenstahl confident he is ready to lead city", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2006-09-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  4. ^ Roddy, Dennis (2006-09-03-). Ravenstahl's political roots go deep on the city's North Side. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PG Publishing Co., Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-01-24.
  5. ^ McGuinness, Scott (Winter 2003). Star athlete wins in political arena too (PDF). W&J p. 10. Washington & Jefferson College. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  6. ^ Bucsko, Mike. "Doubts surround how long Ravenstahl can be mayor", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2006-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  7. ^ Lord, Rich. "City of Pittsburgh charter vague on length of term for mayor's successor", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2006-09-02. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  8. ^ Lord, Rich. "Former top city lawyer opposes succession opinion", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2006-09-06. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  9. ^ Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter
  10. ^ Lord, Rich. "Mayor Ravenstahl changes key posts, targets budget", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2006-09-09. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  11. ^ Rotstein, Gary. "Ravenstahl must run next year", Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 2006-10-13. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  12. ^ Blogging Causes Ravenstahl Incident To Hit High Water. WTAE-TV (2007-01-18). Retrieved on 2007-01-24.
  13. ^ Blog Brought Ravenstahl Story To Light. KDKA-TV (2007-01-19). Retrieved on 2007-01-24.
  14. ^ Former Police Chief Speaks Up About Ravenstahl Incident. WTAE-TV (2007-01-19). Retrieved on 2007-01-24.
Preceded by
Bob O'Connor (D)		 Mayor of Pittsburgh
September 1, 2006 – present		 Incumbent

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