Young president steers City Council

At 23 years old, Luke Ravenstahl became the youngest member ever to be elected to Pittsburgh… At 23 years old, Luke Ravenstahl became the youngest member ever to be elected to Pittsburgh City Council. Two years later, Ravenstahl is now the youngest person in history to be elected Pittsburgh City Council president.

Ravenstahl attended Pitt for one year before transferring to Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. He majored in business administration.

Ravenstahl also played football for Washington and Jefferson before graduating in 2002.

He represents District 1, which covers most of the North Side.

Ravenstahl, who was elected in 2003 and took office in 2004, said that his decision to run for City Council was “a long process.”

“A group of us were not happy with the direction the district was taking,” he said.

Ravenstahl said that he was not initially planning to run for office.

“Candidates we thought would be successful decided not to run,” he said.

During the time between graduating from college and being elected to City Council, Ravenstahl worked as a sales representative for the delivery company DHL.

He continued to work at the job, while dedicating all of his free time to campaigning for the election.

Ravenstahl spent much of his time on the weekends knocking on doors and talking with residents about his position on important political issues.

The campaigning paid off as he defeated incumbent Barbara Burns in the election.

“[It’s] hard to beat an incumbent at any age,” Ravenstahl said. “You never know how people will react to a young age, a new, fresh prospective.”

Ravenstahl, who has lived on the North Side all of his life, isn’t the first in his family to get into politics.

His father is District Judge Robert Ravenstahl. His grandfather is Joseph Ravenstahl Sr., a retired former state representative.

“My family has a deep political background,” Luke Ravenstahl said.

Despite his deep-rooted interest in politics, however, the Council president didn’t think he would be where he is at such a young age.

Ravenstahl said he thinks a lot of people were also surprised that a person his age was elected to City Council.

“Some people said I was too young and inexperienced,” he said, adding that he respected the opinion of those citizens.

But Ravenstahl is convinced that other citizens saw the energy and passion he had for the North Side.

“I was confident in what I did,” Ravenstahl said.

Ravenstahl works with 14 different North Side community groups.

Robin Miller, the executive director of the North Side Chamber of Commerce, said that Ravenstahl is “doing a great job.”

“[He’s] working really hard to get communities to work together,” she said.

City Council meets every Tuesday and Wednesday to consider and vote on legislation.

Ravenstahl was elected City Council president in December 2005 to finish the term of Gene Ricciardi, who left to become a district judge.

Ricciardi’s position as the member from District 3 is now up for special election. District 3 includes a part of Oakland.

Earlier this month, Ravenstahl was elected president again by a unanimous vote from his City Council colleagues. He said that he is thankful for their support.

“It is an honor for me to be elected as president,” Ravenstahl said. “It was exciting for me as a young person.”

Ravenstahl said that he hopes to “carry the voice of the younger population of citizens.”

As for the change of pace from Council member to president, he said he’s enjoying the added responsibilities.

“It’s been enjoyable, exciting, rewarding,” Ravenstahl said. “It requires a lot more work.”

Ravenstahl said that his office now gets a lot more phone calls because he is the president, but he emphasized the fact that his job is still to represent the North Side. The majority of his time is dedicated to that, and said he will not lose sight of it.

The past few weeks have been an adjustment for his office, Ravenstahl said, but he added that everyone is transitioning well.

Ravenstahl aspires to continue in politics in the future.

“I enjoy the political arena,” he said. “The best way to get elected to another office is to do your best in the office that you’re in.”