Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Pittsburgh mayor-elect Bob O'Connor is embraced by his wife, Judy, after delivering an acceptance speech at the Sheraton Station Square. Joining the O'Connors on stage were their three children, from left, Corey O'Connor, Terry O'Connor and Heidy Garth. Click photo for larger image. See more Election Day photos Election results by county Allegheny Armstrong Beaver Butler Fayette Greene Washington Westmoreland Supreme Court retention

Waiting with family and friends on a loading dock at the Sheraton Station Square, Bob O'Connor was less concerned about the vote totals rolling in than about nailing the speech he'd waited eight years to make.

"This is a journey," the new mayor-elect mused, referring both to his own ascent to mayor and Pittsburgh's struggles. "This didn't happen overnight. We're starting now. It'll take time, but we'll put this city back in its rightful place."

A few minutes later, the Democrat received a concession call from Republican mayoral nominee Joe Weinroth.

That call ended a campaign built more on relentless optimism than detailed proposals, one that won the approval of 67 percent of city voters.

"We are the next mayor of Pittsburgh," he told a cheering throng of city workers, business leaders, and a political roster including Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, state Sen. Jim Ferlo and District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.

In his victory speech, the 60-year-old Squirrel Hill resident repeatedly referred to "renewing" Pittsburgh.

"We have all the outstanding resources a city needs," Mr. O'Connor said, citing strong educational, financial, healthcare and manufacturing sectors. "We want to bring people back to this city and welcome them with open arms."

Now Mr. O'Connor faces a range of daunting challenges, including a bare-bones budget that leaves more than 100 jobs vacant, power struggles between City Council and state-appointed overseers, and the perception of rising violence highlighted by the Oct. 9 slaying of Councilman Sala Udin's son.

It's a job he's long craved.

He lost Democratic primary challenges to Mayor Tom Murphy in 1997 and, barely, in 2001.

In May, he outpolled six other Democrats, including Councilman William Peduto and county Prothonotary Michael Lamb.

Through early October he waged a stealthy general election campaign. Only in the last month did he attend debates, consent to interviews and launch a television ad blitz none of his rivals could afford to join.

Yesterday, he bested Mr. Weinroth, also of Squirrel Hill, who received around 28 percent of votes cast. That is a better showing than other recent GOP mayoral candidates, who have hovered around the 22 percent mark.

"We did the best we could with the resources we had," Mr. Weinroth said. "We spent very little money to accomplish more than any recent Republican."

He said he hoped Mr. O'Connor "succeeds. I think we both want the best for Pittsburgh but, if he continues the policies that led us to distress and further decline, we'll certainly comment on it."

Mr. O'Connor thanked the Republican in his speech for "a good campaign."

Independent and third-party candidates led by the Green Party's Titus North, at 4 percent, garnered the rest.

Mr. O'Connor's blue-skies-ahead campaign came against a cloudy backdrop of distressed city finances and rocky relationships with state overseers. His paeans to Pittsburgh clashed with ongoing population loss and a surge in killings that puts the city on pace for 60 homicides, up from 45 last year.

His prescription for those problems includes removing politics from city management, better relationships with state officials, aggressive policing and cooperation with Allegheny County.

That, and some cheerleading.

"We have it all here," he said at a recent campaign forum. "The city of Pittsburgh, we've got everything going for us, but we have to get a better attitude.

"We've got to believe in ourselves."

Hokey? Maybe. But after 12 years of Mr. Murphy's confrontational style, Mr. O'Connor's frequent promises to "get everybody in the same room and solve the problem" appealed to voters.

City workers, he said last night, "will know that the mayor's behind them to clean up this city and improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh."

Campaign foes said it isn't that easy, and it won't be. Mr. O'Connor's pledge to professionalize top city management could clash with his loyalty to political movers who have supported him. Cost-cutting pressures could strain relations with unions representing police, refuse collectors and paramedics, which have long backed him.

He's argued that his labor, business and government experience has prepared him well.

"Because of my experience and leadership ability, and because I'm good with numbers, we'll analyze this budget," he said prior to his speech. "We will run this much more efficiently. We are looking at possibly consolidating departments."

Born in 1944, Pittsburgh's next mayor graduated from Allderdice High School and got a job in the Jones & Laughlin steel mill. He married his high school sweetheart, Judy Levine, in 1964, and later went to work for her uncles in the restaurant business.

In 1972, they sold their Roy Rogers franchises to Beaver County businessman Lou Pappan, and Mr. O'Connor eventually became an executive vice president of his company.

He won a seat on City Council in 1991.

"I started in politics with him in 1992," said Mr. Onorato, who was also a city council member then. "We're going to meet weekly. It's going to be a great working relationship."

As council president from 1998 through 2001, Mr. O'Connor often battled with Mr. Murphy.

Mr. O'Connor left council in early 2003 to run Gov. Ed Rendell's southwestern Pennsylvania office, then quit that job in December to run for mayor. During the campaign, he was a paid consultant for Mr. Pappan's Wendy's franchises.

Whether that's enough to prepare him for a taco salad of urban problems remains to be seen.

"He is a business person, and here he is taking over the city," said Ms. Knoll. "Bob's going to grab the ball and run."

"I think Bob is interested in seeing some neighborhood development take place," said Irvin E. Williams, CEO of Hill District-based developer Ebony Development. "Hopefully, first and foremost, we're going to get some fiscal responsibility."

Back on that loading dock, asked how he felt about his apparent victory, he confessed some butterflies about his speech. But about the job? No.

"I feel like I'm ready to go to work."