The May 15 Democratic primary election was focused on one thing – Pittsburgh’s bright hopes… The May 15 Democratic primary election was focused on one thing – Pittsburgh’s bright hopes for the future.

Both Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato spoke on this theme in their election night victory speeches to a crowd of supporters at the IBEW Hall on the South Side. Ravenstahl ran unopposed, and Onorato, the incumbent, trounced Rick Swartz in the race for Allegheny County Chief Executive.

Onorato also expressed his thanks to the Allegheny County Democratic Committee and assured the voters of Pittsburgh’s bright future, including the PAT buses.

“We’re going to fix transit for the long term, southwestern Pennsylvania will have mass transit,” Onorato said. “And we’re going to fix it in the right way to make sure we get out of this crisis every 12 months.”

While Onorato’s win received strong enthusiasm from the crowd, it was no match for the cheers that met Ravenstahl’s speech.

Facing only one write-in opposition attempt from Republican Mark DeSantis, managing director of ANGLE Technology Consulting and Management, Ravenstahl seems to have won Pittsburgh’s trust in his short year as mayor. Ravenstahl has been incredibly popular since he took on the job after former mayor Bob O’Connor died in 2006. Based on the support Ravenstahl received, his admiration from Pittsburghers will continue to grow.

Ravenstahl’s election could mean good things for Pitt students. He wants to create more jobs in the city to give young people greater opportunities to use their talents in Pittsburgh once they graduate. Two recent Pitt School of Law grads, Lauren Butler and Jill Albrecht, are excited to see what happens next in Ravenstahl’s road to the fall election.

Albrecht, who formerly worked in the city council office when Ravenstahl was a city council member, found a job that will allow her to stay in Pittsburgh along with Butler to continue in their law careers.

“From what I know, he’s great, he’s a wonderful guy,” Albrecht said. “He’s a huge supporter of Pittsburgh, and as a young person, he knows he has to do what he can to keep young people in the city.”

“I think Pittsburgh’s a very growing city,” Butler added. “I think that he’s doing a very good job keeping it like that.”

From the perspectives of people already in the Pittsburgh work force, Matt Sickles and Jason Venier, who are employees of the engineering consulting firm CDM, made sure to stress that all of their democratic nominees were responsible for Pittsburgh’s continuous successful growth.

“We’re here to support what we believe is the future of Pittsburgh, the next generation.” Sickles said. “What this city needs is to make this transition that it needed to break out of its shell and start attracting more people to the city and bring back new people to the city. We very much support all of the efforts the mayor and the county executive are making to try to make that happen.

“In our industry we feel pretty young,” he said. “And I love the excitement and the energy [Ravenstahl] brings. When I look for leaders, I look for energy, I look for someone who’s excited about making a difference, and that’s what I think [Ravenstahl and Onorato] bring to the county, to the city and to the region that desperately needs it.”

In his victory speech, Ravenstahl was met with cheers when he mentioned some of his more popular accomplishments and plans such as keeping the Penguins, keeping Iron City Beer and rebuilding the Hill District.

“Tonight is not a beginning, rather, it’s a continuation of my dedication to you and the work we’ve started together,” Ravenstahl said. “Tonight represents the continuation of our efforts to reform Pittsburgh for the better.

“And the best part of all this is that we’re doing it right here in Pittsburgh, in America’s most livable city.”

Ravenstahl thanked the Democratic Committee, his supporters from the North Side who supported him when he was a “somewhat unknown city council member,” the O’Connor family and his wife Erin.

“I was reminded today that behind every successful man is a strong woman, and I couldn’t agree more,” he said.

Onorato’s sentiments were similar.

“We will continue to move this region forward,” he said. “Just remember, we are just getting started. Pittsburgh has turned the corner, and we’re going to move this region forward.”