A candidate for Pittsburgh City Council said yesterday that his lack of United States citizenship is no bar to taking office.

David Schuilenburg of Summer Hill said he is a Canadian but a legal permanent resident of the United States. He said he started the naturalization process, which leads to citizenship, last month.

He said there is no bar to a noncitizen running for office.

"If we're going to fight for democracy abroad, we should practice it at home," he said. Voters he's interviewed "are just happy that there's a breath of fresh air that's coming through."

He is running as an independent against Democrat Darlene Harris, Republican Joe Lucas, and independents Myles Rooney, Steven Oberst and Kevin Donahue in the race to succeed Luke Ravenstahl, who left council to become mayor.

The city's charter specifies that a council member must have been a resident of the district for a year, and Mr. Schuilenburg, a Montreal native, said he moved there in 2002. The code does not require a council member to be a citizen or registered voter, which he is not.

Neither the state-issued Candidate's Affidavit and Loyalty Oath nor the Affidavit of Qualified Elector refer to any requirement that a candidate be a citizen or registered voter, he noted.