Democrat Theresa Smith has won the special election to the District 2 seat on City Council by a wide margin.

Ms. Smith, of Westwood, won 1,259 votes or 48.5 percent of the vote. Opponents Georgia Blotzer, a Democrat running as an independent from Mount Washington, won 639 votes or 24.6 percent; third-party candidate Brendan Schubert, also a Westwood Democrat, won 450 votes or 17 percent; and Republican Chris Metz of Sheraden won 239 votes or 9 percent.

Ms. Smith, 49, fills out the term of former City Councilman Dan Deasy, now a state House member. She most likely now becomes the front-runner in the race this year for a four-year term. She could not be reached for comment last night.

Ms. Blotzer, who came in second, said last night that she is evaluating whether to run in the May primary despite yesterday's loss.

"It was a difficult campaign with the weather and the short amount of time," she said. "Many people worked very hard on my campaign, but apparently it just wasn't our time."

Ms. Smith is a longtime volunteer who has held professional positions encouraging parent involvement in city schools. Mr. Metz is the political director of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County. Ms. Blotzer is a retired school teacher. Mr. Schubert is a zoning official for the city.

Allegheny County Elections Director Mark Wolosik predicted that some 20 percent of eligible voters would turn out.

The district includes Sheraden, Esplen, Chartiers City, Windgap, Fairywood, Crafton Heights, Elliott, West End, Duquesne Heights, Ridgemont, Westwood, Oakwood, East Carnegie, Banksville and part of Mount Washington.