2017 Pittsburgh mayoral election

The 2017 Pittsburgh mayoral election took place on November 7, 2017. The primary election was held on May 16, 2017. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto successfully ran for re-election to a second term.[1][2] Three Democrats, including Peduto, and no Republicans filed petitions to appear on the respective primary ballots before the deadline on March 7, 2017.[3] Peduto won the Democratic primary and was officially unopposed in the general election.

2017 Pittsburgh mayoral election

November 7, 2017

Candidate Bill Peduto Party Democratic Popular vote 40,540 Percentage 96.0%

Mayor before election Bill Peduto Democratic Elected Mayor Bill Peduto Democratic

Background

The 2013 election, in which then-incumbent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was originally a candidate for re-election before withdrawing, saw an open election for Mayor of Pittsburgh. Then-city council member Bill Peduto, who had run for Mayor of Pittsburgh in the 2005 election and the 2007 special election following the death of Bob O'Connor, won a four-way Democratic primary.[4] He went on to win the general election comfortably, defeating his Republican opponent, Joshua Wander, by 73 points. He assumed office in January 2014.[5]

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary election was held on May 16, 2017. Incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto formally announced his re-election campaign on December 14, 2016.[6] Peduto's first challenger, activist John Welch, declared his candidacy on January 21.[7] In mid-February 2017, two individuals had filed to vie for the primary election endorsement of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee: Peduto and city council member Darlene Harris, the latter of whom had not officially announced a campaign.[8] John Welch did not file for the committee endorsement, but remained a candidate in the primary.[9]

The committee announced its endorsement of Bill Peduto on March 5.[8][10] Harris, although losing the party endorsement, gained 40% of the committee votes and filed petitions just before the March 7 deadline to appear on the ballot in the primary, despite not having formed an official campaign.[11] Because of this, Harris did not file a campaign finance report and challenged the legality of the city ordinance requiring them.[12]

Candidates

Declared

• Bill Peduto, incumbent Mayor of Pittsburgh[6]
• Darlene Harris, Pittsburgh City Council member[13][note 1]
• John Welch, Dean of Students at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary[7]

Results

On May 16, Bill Peduto defeated John Welch and Darlene Harris to win the Democratic nomination.[15]

Democratic primary results[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Peduto (inc.)	27,270	68.90
	Democratic	John Welch	6,895	17.42
	Democratic	Darlene Harris	5,266	13.31
	Democratic	Write-in	147	0.37
Total votes			39,578	100.00

General election

No Republican received the requisite 250 write-in votes in the Republican primary to become that party's nominee, but Peduto received 228 write-ins, Darlene Harris received 229, and John Welch received 65, with 21 votes that had not been verified.[17] Two independent candidates—James Rack and Khalid Raheem—filed to appear on the ballot before the early August 2017 deadline, but were removed from the ballot in late August after their nominating petitions were successfully challenged by the Allegheny County Democratic Party. Rack had failed to provide a financial interest statement to the city clerk and Raheem's petition contained too few city resident signatures to qualify.[18] Ultimately, Peduto was re-elected, having been the only candidate listed on the general election ballot.[1]

Results

General election results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Peduto (inc.)	40,540	95.96
	N/A	Write-in	1,706	4.04
Total votes			42,246	100

Notes

1. Harris appeared on the ballot but did not form an official campaign organization that would require campaign finance reporting.[14]

References

1. "Official Results - Mayor Citywide". Allegheny County Division of Elections. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
2. Bauder, Bob (11 September 2015). "Peduto to start campaign for 2nd term as Pittsburgh mayor next year". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
3. Fontaine, Tom (7 March 2017). "It's official: It's a 3-candidate race for Pittsburgh mayor". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
4. O'Toole, James (22 May 2013). "Peduto wins Democratic nod for Pittsburgh mayoral race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
5. O'Toole, James; Balingit, Moriah (6 November 2013). "Peduto wins Pittsburgh mayoral election in landslide". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
6. Field, Nick (14 December 2016). "Peduto to Begin Re-Election Campaign Today". PoliticsPA. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
7. Potter, Chris (18 January 2017). "Peduto to face challenger in May primary". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
8. Potter, Chris (4 February 2017). "Harris seeking Democratic endorsement over incumbent Mayor Peduto". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
9. Engelkemier, Paul (14 February 2017). "Peduto and Harris Vie for Dem Endorsement". PoliticsPA. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
10. Potter, Chris (5 March 2017). "Peduto, Mullen win endorsements from county Democrats". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
11. Potter, Chris (7 March 2017). "Councilwoman Harris files petitions to join Pittsburgh mayoral race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
12. Fontaine, Tom (4 April 2017). "In race for Pittsburgh mayor, Harris questions legality of campaign finance reports". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
13. Smeltz, Adam (31 March 2017). "PWSA will need billions for infrastructure needs, new water lines, mayor warns". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
14. Potter, Chris (2 March 2017). "When is a mayoral candidate not a mayoral candidate?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
15. Iannotti, Ralph (16 May 2017). "Peduto Wins Democratic Nomination For Pittsburgh Mayor in Landslide". CBS Pittsburgh. AP. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
16. "2017 Primary Election". Allegheny County Elections Division. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
17. Slaby, M.J. "No, Darlene Harris can't run for Pittsburgh mayor as a Republican". The Incline. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
18. Potter, Chris (29 August 2017). "Two mayoral challengers removed from ballot". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 8 November 2017.