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

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.

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

Results

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

Mayor of Pittsburgh, 2017[16]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Peduto (incumbent) 27,270 68.90
Democratic John Welch 6,895 17.42
Democratic Darlene Harris 5,266 13.31
write-ins 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

Mayor of Pittsburgh, 2017[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bill Peduto (incumbent) 40,540 95.96%
write-ins 1,706 4.04%
Total votes 42,246 100.00%
Democratic hold

Notes

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

References

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