Usually, winning the Democratic primary in the city of Pittsburgh pretty much guarantees you the office -- especially when there's nobody else on the ballot.

But R. Daniel Lavelle, of the Hill District, learned two weeks before the Nov. 3 general election that supporters of the councilwoman he vanquished in the May primary, Tonya Payne, were preparing a write-in campaign to keep her in the seat. Mr. Lavelle had already planned on "re-engaging the public for the general election," as he put it, but the write-in push added some drama.

Election day saw charges that supporters of Ms. Payne were helping people to write her name in, and counter-charges that Mr. Lavelle's backers were trying to stop them from doing so.

In the end, the Allegheny County Elections Division unofficially logged 847 write-in votes, versus 3,114 for Mr. Lavelle. So the 32-year-old aide to state Rep. Jake Wheatley is on his way from the frying pan of a campaign to the fire of city government.

"It feels great, actually. It doesn't feel daunting," he said last week. "I think it's a very good feeling when you know you're going Downtown with the support of the district."

The range of interests from South Oakland to Perry South make representing the district a unique challenge.

"Our first act will really be to go around community to community to community and re-engage them," Mr. Lavelle said. He suspects that jobs, work force development and violent crime will be top concerns.

Hill District groups want a community master plan before the Penguins start developing a 28-acre site near the new arena but haven't yet gotten the Urban Redevelopment Authority's approval to hire the necessary consultant. The Penguins agreed in a community benefits agreement not to start development until Feb. 19, but Mr. Lavelle said there's no way a master plan can be in place by that time.

"We probably will have to seek an extension of the deadline," Mr. Lavelle said.

Downtown could face higher parking rates if Mayor Luke Ravenstahl leases the public garages to a private operator, as he plans to do in a bid to raise money for the ailing city pension fund. Council is likely to vote on part or all of the lease deal next year.

"I have not made up my mind one way or the other," Mr. Lavelle said. "I think there is definitely some concern about what it may do to rates."

The North Side faces housing issues, and business districts like Perry Hilltop's need help, he said.

In one way, the campaign isn't over. Mr. Lavelle has filed a written complaint against Ms. Payne, who is the Pittsburgh Democratic Committee chair, for failing to support her party's nominee. Allegheny County Democratic Committee Chair Jim Burn said he will meet with Ms. Payne and decide if she will be stripped of her party posts.

Mr. Lavelle said his wife, Rachel Riley-Lavelle, "was extremely supportive" when he spent much of their first year of marriage campaigning. "She door-knocked as much as I did."

And especially after the write-in scare, he feels he has the neighborhood's backing.

He said he hasn't heard too many cries in the street of, "You won." Instead, it's been: "We won. We're going to do it. We're going to change the community."

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