No Dowd about it: Ravenstahl wins mayoral primary

When Mayor Luke Ravenstahl walked onto the stage at the Hofbrauhaus last night to celebrate his… When Mayor Luke Ravenstahl walked onto the stage at the Hofbrauhaus last night to celebrate his victory in the Democratic mayoral primary, he thanked his family. He thanked his campaign staff and those who voted for him.

He even thanked his competitor, former police Sgt. Carmen Robinson.

Robinson earned 5,801 votes to Ravenstahl’s 26,139, with 99 percent of the precincts reporting last night.

Ravenstahl, who local political science experts are predicting will win the general election for mayor this November, didn’t mention the third Democratic candidate: City Councilman Patrick Dowd, who received 12,337 votes.

“My mother once told me if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all,” Ravenstahl said. “So I decided to do that.”

Dowd conceded around 10 p.m. yesterday.

Ravenstahl, who walked on stage to “Teenage Wasteland” by rock band The Who, told his supporters that he was excited to work on his 11-step plan for the city “as early as tomorrow morning.”

Ravenstahl’s plan puts an emphasis on strengthening the health care and education industries, continuing riverfront development and merging with Allegheny County, along with other initiatives.

“I can’t wait to take this suit coat off and roll up my sleeves as each of you do when you go to work,” said Ravenstahl, who joked that he ran for office more times than members of Congress. This was his third round of elections in two years.

Dowd watched the election results with his campaign at the Church Brew Works. He began his concession speech emphasizing the importance of having competition in the primary race, even though he said many people told him it was impossible to beat an incumbent.

“We generated public discourse about issues important to the city,” Dowd said.

He attributed part of the campaign loss to being outspent “tremendously” by Ravenstahl’s campaign, although his campaign was “fueled and energized” by 600 campaign contributors.

Dowd said every day his team talked about finances, youth violence and cleaning up neighborhoods, and that this was the most meaningful outcome of the race.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “We pledge not to let these conversations disappear.”

He said the campaign plans to hold leadership accountable.

“We all have to get up tomorrow to improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh,” Dowd said.

Eve Ticker, a Dowd supporter who awaited results with the campaign at the Church Brew Works, said the results were good considering how much Ravenstahl outspent Dowd.

“It’s a clear statement that what’s been happening is not enough,” she said. “This speaks to people’s dissatisfaction very well.”

She said whether he wins or loses, the campaign is still winning, because it’s “bringing issues to light.”

Another Dowd supporter, Alaina Dopico, said the late start of the campaign hurt Dowd’s chances but that she would “love” to see Dowd run for mayor again.

Dowd said he wanted to look over the election results before deciding whether he would run as a write-in candidate during the general election in November.

Back in Oakland, election turnout was disappointing for some.

Oakland resident Steve Sortino has been helping voters at the fire house on McKee Place since he began voting, in the 1960s.

He said he was disappointed in yesterday’s turnout. As of 7 p.m., one hour before the polls closed, 54 people had come to the station to vote. About 700 came to vote for the president in November, Sortino said.

“It changed everything,” he said. Or at least he thought it would.

Most of the people who voted in November were college students, he said. The majority of the others were middle-aged Democrats. Only two Republicans voted at the McKee Place fire house, he said.

Sortino said he thought part of the reason yesterday’s turnout was low was simply because it was a primary. He said he hoped the turnout would be better in November’s general election, when the college students had returned and Independents could vote. He said the turnout is normally larger at general and national elections, simply because people feel they have a larger impact.

Sortino said he hopes he’ll finally be able to see an old stereotype squashed — the one that states that older people tend to vote more, generally because they care more.

Local political science experts said they feel confident Ravenstahl will win the general election for mayor. The office has gone to a Democrat for the last 75 years.

There aren’t any Republican candidates yet, and Squirrel Hill resident Kevin Acklin, who filed his papers to run in November’s general election yesterday, is the only Independent candidate.

Pitt law professor and local politics blogger Michael Madison said, “The Democrats’ registration advantage and the lack of a meaningful Republican organization in Pittsburgh mean that the winner of the Democratic primary will become Pittsburgh’s next mayor.”

Madison said he expected Ravenstahl’s campaign message — which emphasized continuing to improve health and education and pushing for a city-county merger — to remain largely the same.

“Expect his campaign to continue to focus relentlessly on small-scale successes in public services and on Ravenstahl’s personality and personal history,” Madison said in an e-mail. “Do not expect anything new or dramatic.”

Pitt political science professor Susan Hansen, who attributed Ravenstahl’s success in the primary partially to his ability to raise more money than the other candidates, was more skeptical.

“All politicians shift,” she said, refraining from giving more details as to exactly how she thought Ravenstahl’s message would shift. “Reality is much more difficult than campaigning. It’s a problem, and I think also they will say things people want to hear.”

Madison said he “assumed that Carmen Robinson will fade from city politics as quickly as she emerged. Patrick Dowd will return to the City Council. If he continues with the ‘anti-corruption’ theme, he will remain a modestly successful thorn in the side of the Ravenstahl administration. If he can find something else to talk about, then he may have a shot at another race for the mayor’s office in four years.”

Staff Writer Lori Stover contributed to this report.