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Luke Robert Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980, 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 among the youngest mayors of a major city in American history.[2] A graduate of North Catholic High School, Ravenstahl attended Mercyhurst College and the University of Pittsburgh before graduating from Washington & Jefferson College. Four months after his graduation, aged 23, he ran for a seat on the Pittsburgh City Council. He was elected and took office in January 2004 before being appointed City Council President in December 2005. After the death of Pittsburgh mayor Bob O'Connor, Ravenstahl became the acting mayor, per the city's charter, on September 1, 2006. He later won a special election in 2007, and a regular election in 2009.
[edit] Personal life Ravenstahl's father, Robert P. Ravenstahl Jr., is a district magistrate on the Northside, serving Wards 26 & 27[3], and head coach for the North Catholic High School football team. His grandfather, Robert P. Ravenstahl Sr., represented the 20th legislative district as a state representative, was a Democratic ward leader in the North Side, and was defeated in the 1976 Democratic primary by a young Tom Murphy, who would go on to become mayor himself.[4] Ravenstahl's mother was a crossing guard in the neighborhood of Manchester and is currently a teacher's aide with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Ravenstahl is the eldest of three brothers. He became involved in Pittsburgh politics at an early age, by helping distribute literature for his father's campaign and becoming a Democratic committeeman at the age of 18. Ravenstahl graduated from North Catholic High School in 1998, where he was class president and played baseball and football. He attended Mercyhurst College, where he played football, for one year before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, where he attempted to make the football team as a walk-on. He transferred to Washington & Jefferson College, where he graduated with honors with a degree in business administration in December 2002.[5] He was W&J's starting place kicker for three years and was team captain for his senior year.[5][6] He currently holds the school record for most consecutive extra points.[7] He worked summer jobs for the post office, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the office of the Pittsburgh city controller. Following graduation from W&J, Ravenstahl worked as an account manager for a courier service.[8] In July 2004, he married Erin Lynn Feith, whom he began dating in high school. After high school, Erin attended the Pittsburgh Beauty Academy and now works at a beauty salon and spa. They now reside in the Summer Hill neighborhood of the Northside. Ravenstahl is a Roman Catholic and attends mass weekly at Holy Wisdom Parish in the Northside.[9] Luke and Erin had their first baby, a boy, on October 31, 2008 shortly before 9:30 in the morning. Their son is named Cooper Luke Ravenstahl. On May 19, 2007, Ravenstahl delivered the keynote address at Washington & Jefferson College's 208th commencement celebration.[6] He served as honorary co-captain with fellow W&J graduate Roger Goodell during W&J's 2006 homecoming football game.[10] As a sign of support for the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2009 AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens, Ravenstahl ceremonially changed his name to "Luke Steelerstahl" on January 14, 2009.[11] Court officials did not actually file the name change paperwork, and his legal name remains Ravenstahl.[12] On November 23, 2009, Ravenstahl announced that he and his wife, Erin, had split and that he has moved out of the home that they had shared. He was quoted as saying "She doesn't like the limelight. She didn't like the fact that I became the mayor. She doesn't like the public nature of the position." [13] On 24 November, the mayor announced that he and his wife were "formally separating," but had no plans to officially file for divorce.[14] [edit] Career on City CouncilIn April 2003, four months after graduating from college, Ravenstahl ran for the Democratic nomination for the Pittsburgh City Council's District 1 seat against incumbent Barbara Burns. At the time, the 23-year old Ravenstahl was a Democratic committeeman in the 26th ward and had won the local party endorsement. Burns, who had several years experience working for the state government and neighborhood groups, was endorsed by Mayor Tom Murphy.[15] Ravenstahl defeated Burns with 54.5% of the vote.[16] He credited his win to a combination of grassroots campaigning, a voter registration drive aimed at 18- to 25- year-olds, and a general dissatisfaction with Mayor Murphy.[17][18] Ravenstahl was sworn in as the youngest member of City Council in Pittsburgh's history in January 2004. During his first few weeks on City Council, Ravenstahl's bill to reduce the newly imposed parking tax from 50% to 33% was vetoed by Mayor Tom Murphy, who was unwilling to balance the budget with $3 million from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.[19] On December 7, 2005, Ravenstahl became the youngest President of the Pittsburgh City Council, when Gene Riccardi (who had been elected district justice) stepped down from that post in a move seen as paving the way for ally Jim Motznik.[8][20] However, Motznik was unable to secure the votes needed to win the presidency, and Ravenstahl emerged as a compromise candidate.[21] He was re-elected unanimously at the re-organization meeting in January 2006, when the new members of the city council took office. One of his first major hurdles was to deal with the two state budget oversight boards.[22] Per provisions in the city's charter, Ravenstahl ascended from the office of City Council President to Mayor on September 1, 2006, following the death of Mayor Bob O'Connor. [edit] Interim Mayor of PittsburghDue 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.[23][24][25] 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.[26] Ravenstahl instructed the city's legal department to quickly obtain a decision as to when the election should be held.[27] 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, with the winner of the general election taking office immediately after the certification of the election results for a term ending in January 2010.[28] 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 O'Connor's medical diagnosis in July 2006, which limited O'Connor to the confines of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Shadyside, while O'Connor convalesced.[citation needed] 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 Bob 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.[29] Ravenstahl played an important role in helping other local officials, including Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell negotiate with the Mario Lemieux-led Pittsburgh Penguins ownership group to keep the team in Pittsburgh.[30][31] After generally following O'Connor's agenda for the first few months of his term, Ravenstahl began to implement his own agenda, including pursuing a tax break for new housing in downtown, proposing college aid for city high school graduates, improving diversity in city government.[32] He also began replacing O'Connor's staffers with his own.[32] He also continued O'Connor's "311" city help line proposal, as well as the "Redd-Up" crews.[33][34] [edit] 2007 Special electionMain article: Pittsburgh mayoral special election, 2007  Ravenstahl was unopposed on the ballot in the Democratic primary, held on May 17, 2007, to finish the remainder of Bob O'Connor's unfinished term. His chief opponent, Pittsburgh City Council member Bill Peduto, withdrew before the primary, refusing to engage in a negative campaign that many said would have been required to defeat Ravenstahl.[35] His eventual Republican challenger, CEO and adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University Mark DeSantis did not appear on the Republican ballot, instead gaining the nomination through a write-in campaign.[36] DeSantis' candidacy garnered an unusual amount of interest in a city where no Republican had been elected mayor since the Great Depression. He was endorsed by Pittsburgh's two major newspapers, including the conservative-leaning Pittsburgh Tribune Review [37] and the liberal-leaning Pittsburgh Post Gazette.[38] He was also endorsed by the city's police union[39] and was profiled on Fox News.[40] Of the 28% of registered voters who voted in the general election, 63% chose Ravenstahl and 35% voted for DeSantis.[41][42][43] Ravenstahl will continue as mayor of Pittsburgh until 2010, when the term of the late Bob O'Connor is finished. [edit] Finishing O'Connor's Term as MayorIn one major accomplishment during his time as mayor before the 2009 election, Luke Ravenstahl hosted a giveaway for free trees generously supported by the Shady Tree Commission, Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest, and Eilser’s Nursery.[44] [edit] 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary in Pennsylvania Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton at a rally on March 14, 2008, at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. The double endorsements, coupled with endorsements from Governor Ed Rendell and Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll, were seen as an indication of her strong support in Pennsylvania.[45] Ravenstahl marched with Clinton the next day in Pittsburgh's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade[46] Baker Knoll made headlines with comments that she made at a rally with Bill Clinton in Market Square. Referring to Ravenstahl and Onorato, whom she felt had slighted her in the introductions, "These two men can't stand women."[47] [edit] First full term: 2009–presentOn May 19, 2009, Ravenstahl beat City Councilman Patrick Dowd and attorney Carmen Robinson to earn the Democratic nomination in the Pittsburgh mayoral election, 2009. In the general election, he defeated his two independent competitors to earn a full term as mayor. [edit] Criticism and Controversies
[edit] Controversy over 2005 arrestIn 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 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.[48] 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 by saying that McIntire had lied. McIntire said that the mayor's response further brought into question his maturity.[49] 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, "[H]ow 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?"[50] 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.[50] [edit] Lemieux Celebrity Invitational Golf incidentRavenstahl also created controversy for his participation in the $9,000-a-head Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational golf outing in June 2007. His participation was sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Members of the Pittsburgh city ethics board cited concerns about the "perception" that he might owe something to those who subsidized his participation.[51] Republican mayoral candidate Mark DeSantis challenged Ravenstahl to sign an 'ethics pledge' in response to this incident. Six months later, mayor Ravenstahl introduced legislation that would have kept UPMC from paying any future taxes, and possibly some current taxes.[52] Further complicating matters was that the mayor held this for weeks until the very last session of the 2007 City Council (2 of the 9 members were outgoing, and one had resigned under indictment).[53] [edit] Questionable use of police vehicleOver the weekend of August 18, 2007, Ravenstahl used a Homeland Security funded SUV to go to a Toby Keith concert at the Post Gazette Pavilion. The Mayor's use of the GMC Yukon to travel to the concert may have violated the terms of the grant that funded the purchase of the vehicle. Responding to the allegations of impropriety, Ravenstahl said "I'm still going to continue to be who I'm going to be, and go to concerts like I always have, and go to have a drink with my wife in bars. That's what 27-year-olds do and I shouldn't be any different ... [I]'m not going to change my life to appease the media or appease somebody who wants me to be somebody I'm not. I think the fact that I'm 27 is something the city should embrace and it's something that I've embraced."[54] Sgt. Mona Wallace was reportedly intimidated for reporting the incident to Public Safety Director Michael Huss.[55] Police Chief Nate Harper began disciplinary measures against Wallace, but the reprimand was rescinded by Huss.[54] [edit] Banner-GateDuring the 2008 Stanley Cup playoff run of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Penguins and Reebok proposed putting up 40-foot (12 m) by 85-foot (26 m) advertisements on two downtown buildings. Due to controversy over a no-bid electronic billboard approved by director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority Pat Ford, there was a moratorium on new downtown signage.[56] The Penguins and Reebok thought that they could not get new signage put up during this moratorium, and they contacted the mayor's chief of staff, Yarone Zober, to confirm this. Zober worked with City Council, including Council President Doug Shields to get this done and worked until 10 pm on a Friday night to finalize an agreement. Legislation was written to get the "holiday" banners put up but because of Victoria Day in Canada, Reebok could not get the banners printed in time. Ravenstahl blamed the inability to get the signs printed on City Council.[57] Councilman Bill Peduto, a Penguins season ticket holder, went so far as to call this accusation a "bold faced lie".[58] E-mails obtained by WTAE TV of Pittsburgh between City Bureaucrats, Councilmembers, the Penguins and the Mayor's office supported Peduto's claims.[59] [edit] Other incidents
In addition to the claims of corruption, Ford called Ravenstahl's "a failed administration" that forced him "to serve as a scapegoat for the inappropriate affairs and activities of others".[65] Councilman William Peduto issued a statement that the contracting issue "goes much further than Pat Ford. Pittsburgh is no longer a city that is open for business; Pittsburgh is a city for sale."[66]
[edit] Reaction to controversiesIn a story by The New York Times, Ravenstahl complained that he could no longer attend Pittsburgh Steelers games. "I just can't enjoy the game when I know I'm going to get hounded by the press the whole time", Ravenstahl said.[84] In the same story, Ravenstahl discussed a number of controversies that have surrounded him in his time as mayor:
[edit] Election history
[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
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