Now that we've got two candidates, what's next for the mayor's race?

First up is the Jan. 31 filing of campaign fundraising reports. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is expected to far out-raise Councilman William Peduto. The question is whether Mr. Peduto will be able to show enough money to prospective donors that they won't be throwing their money away.

Next, presumably, comes the Penguins decision on whether to stay or go. If they stay, Mr. Ravenstahl gets to claim some credit. If they go, you can bet Mr. Peduto will say that the mayor didn't do enough to support Isle of Capri's failed bid to win a slots casino license and build an arena.

Then there's the March 4 Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement vote. If the mayor can hold his rival to one-third of the vote, he can claim a resounding win that matches the late Bob O'Connor's endorsement victory in 2005. Anything much less might be viewed as lukewarm backing from party regulars. A key may be whether the Wagner family, which includes state Auditor General Jack Wagner and 19th Ward Committee Chairman Pete Wagner, decides to swing some South Hills votes behind Mr. Peduto. Why would they do that? Because a landslide win for Mr. Ravenstahl would be viewed as a big plus for his ally, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, a potential rival to Jack Wagner's eventual bid for higher office.

Still a minefield for the mayor is the federal whistleblower lawsuit by police Cmdr. Catherine McNeilly related to the involvement of former city Operations Director Dennis Regan in police matters. At some point between now and the May 15 primary, the city will likely have to agree to a potentially embarrassing settlement, or face potentially embarrassing depositions.

Here's our latest list of confirmed candidates in the city's other races:

Controller - Acting Controller Tony Pokora, challengers Michael Lamb and Doug Shields

Council Distrist 1 - Incumbent Darlene Harris, challenger Dave Schuilenburg

Council District 3 - Incumbent Jeff Koch, challenger Bruce Kraus

Council District 5 - Incumbent Doug Shields, no announced challenger

Council District 7 - Incumbent Len Bodack, challengers Patrick Dowd and Tom Fallon

Council District 9 - Incumbent Twanda Carlisle, challengers Ricky Burgess, Rachel Cooper, Judith Ginyard, K. Chase Patterson

Mr. Fallon's entry into the District 7 race makes Early Returns wonder what state Sen. Jim Ferlo's intentions are. Mr. Fallon works for Sen. Ferlo, and said Monday that he'll leave that post to run for council. He has launched two prior bids for council, but hasn't done well in Democratic Committee votes, and has subsequently withdrawn. Will he have the full backing of his boss, which could make the party endorsement vote very interesting? If not, will he stay in? If he does, what effect will it have on what had been viewed as a very competitive head-to-head between incumbent Len Bodack and challenger Patrick Dowd, currently of the school board? Stay tuned.

And this from Harrisburg

A campaign aide to former U.S. Sen Rick Santorum, who had also worked for retired state Sen. Noah Wenger, will become the new political director for the Republican State Committee.

Starting Feb. 1, Chad Weaver of Lancaster County will replace Allison Coccia, who has taken a job as the new executive director of the New York state Republican party.

Last year Mr. Weaver worked as Mr. Santorum's campaign director for Central Pennsylvania, responsible for a 16-county region. He also oversaw services to constituents.

Before that, he had worked for 10 years as chief of staff for Sen. Wenger, who retired Nov. 30. Mr. Weaver was executive director of the state Senate's Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee in 1997.