Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was at Seven Springs during last year's blizzard, out of town during the Aug. 19 fatal flood and on vacation while city council debated the city's amended financial recovery plan in 2009.

Mr. Ravenstahl missed last year's Labor Day parade, the June 10 announcement of plans to bring a new medical school to the city and the grand opening of the Consol Energy Center last year.

He missed the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, held Aug. 1 to 6 in the city, but donned a football uniform Aug. 6 for a part in the Batman movie during filming at Heinz Field.

The mayor's five-year tenure repeatedly has been punctuated by criticism about where he has and hasn't been. While Mr. Ravenstahl likes to promote his role in the spate of development some call the Third Renaissance, other milestones in the city's life -- some tragic, others triumphant -- have been marked without him.

"The message that this is sending is extremely negative," said Gerald Shuster, professor of political communication and presidential rhetoric at the University of Pittsburgh.

In a statement, Mr. Ravenstahl said he attends as many events as possible but misses some because of the sheer number of invitations. In addition to meetings with staff, he listed 21 events and meetings he's attended in the past two weeks, including the graduation ceremony for his inaugural Youth Civic Leadership Academy, a tour of an East Liberty building poised for redevelopment, a charity luncheon with the Boy Scouts and a meeting with wounded veterans.

The list also included a meeting with U.S. Attorney David Hickton on police-community relations, a meeting with university leaders on opportunities for collaboration and a meeting with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh about the possibility of bringing the 2012 One Young World Summit to the city. His office noted that many of the listed engagements occurred outside of public view.