Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's political foes accused him today of violating the city's ethics rules by attending a golf event as a guest of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which often has dealings with the city.

The mayor's administration argued that golfing at the two-day Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational, which costs $27,000 for a threesome, did not run afoul of the city's rules, which include exceptions for charitable events, complimentary meals and gifts "of nominal value."

"I would never take a gratuity of any sort whatsoever from anybody either doing business, or not doing business, with the city," said Republican mayoral nominee Mark DeSantis. "As mayor, I'm not going to hide behind some administrative rules."

City Councilman William Peduto, who abandoned a Democratic primary challenge to the mayor in March, said he has turned down offers of gifts of value.

"Nobody who does business with the city is allowed legally to offer this kind of a gift to an elected official," he said. As an official, if one is offered, he added, "You have to say no."

If valuable gifts are legal, he said sarcastically, "Let's let council do it, too, because I could use a new car."

The event at the Laurel Valley Golf Club included breakfast and lunch in a private dining area, a gift bag, a commemorative money clip, an evening social and prizes for top finishers. The Mario Lemieux Foundation, which conducts the annual event, gives the proceeds to cancer research.

News of the mayor's attendance, part of which conflicted with a June 28 public hearing on the recent promotions of police officers who have faced accusations of domestic abuse, angered women's organizations.

"We're getting a lot of pretty words from the mayor that he wants zero tolerance for domestic violence," said Jeanne Clark of Squirrel Hill, a member of the National Organization for Women's state board. "But when he had a chance to listen to the citizens on this issue, he chose to golf instead."

Mr. Ravenstahl said he did not attend the public hearing because mayors almost never attend such City Council functions.

On the day of the hearing, according to UPMC, the mayor golfed with George Huber, formerly the health system's senior vice president of corporate relations, and Robert Kennedy, the vice president of government relations who was city operations director before leaving for the healthcare giant in 2005.

"Our patients benefit from the Lemieux Foundation," said UPMC in a statement explaining its support for the event.

The city's code of conduct says an elected official "shall not solicit or accept from an interested party . . . anything of value" with exceptions, including "complimentary travel for official purposes," meals and event tickets of limited value.

It allows elected officials to accept sporting or cultural event tickets totaling only $250 in value a year, including no more than $100 from any one entity. It carves out exceptions for charitable and civic events and meals.

The administration contends that attendance at the invitational falls within the exceptions.

Should the city's Ethics Hearing Board look at the matter, in order to better define the terms? "In this case, I think it needs to," Mr. Peduto said. "Public officials should follow the law, or they should change the law."

The state chapter of the NOW is collecting cases of women who believe they received an inadequate response from city police to domestic abuse calls,

NOW is trying to assemble volunteers to investigate and document the claims, Ms. Clark said today, and is weighing a number of options, including a lawsuit against the city and protests when its state convention occurs here in October.

The organization's concerns were spurred by the June 18 promotions of Police Cmdr. George Trosky, Lt. Charles Rodriguez and Sgt. Eugene F. Hlavac, despite the fact that all have faced accusations of domestic abuse. The promotions could point to a cavalier attitude toward domestic violence claims, and could suggest a hostile environment for female officers, Ms. Clark said.

Charges against Mr. Rodriguez were dropped today.

"A force that would, without thought almost, promote guys who have exhibited this kind of behavior probably won't be friendly to women," she said.

NOW is reaching out to the National Center for Women and Policing for that organization's expertise, she said, and consulting with attorneys about possible causes of legal action to reverse the promotions.