Politicians are known for enforcing the law and putting criminals in jail, but one Pittsburgh mayor won the election while sitting behind bars.

Joseph Barker, a write-in candidate for mayor in the 1850 election, had an outlaw reputation and a long list of run-ins with local police. Mr. Barker gained notoriety as an illiterate street preacher in the 1840s while accumulating a list of arrests for inciting riots, blocking streets and publicly using vulgar language.

Clean-shaven -- at a time when nearly all men wore beards -- and always dressed in a black cape and stovepipe hat, Mr. Barker often commanded a public following.

His most fervent supporters began convincing Pittsburghers that Mr. Barker was a martyr for freedom of speech and should be considered for mayor in the upcoming 1850 election. However, following one of his public tirades months before the election, then Pittsburgh Mayor John Herron had Mr. Barker arrested for obstructing traffic and using lewd language.

While on trial, Mr. Barker threatened the judge and members of the jury, who sentenced him to a 12-month jail term.

Undeterred, he earned nearly 1,800 write-in votes and won the mayoral election by 200 votes while sitting in a City of Pittsburgh jail cell.

Mayor Barker surprised many of his critics by enforcing a 10-hour workday for certain occupations and banning prize fights. However, he served only one year as mayor, and during his term, police arrested him twice for assault and battery.

Mayor Barker unsuccessfully ran for re-election in 1851, 1852 and 1854, but to this day, he is the only person elected Pittsburgh's

First Published: October 29, 2009, 4:00 a.m.