Pittsburgh Councilman Dowd considering run for mayor
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Pittsburgh Councilman Patrick Dowd said today that he is "very seriously, very carefully and very thoughtfully" considering a mayoral bid this year.
The councilman, elected in 2007 after a term on the school board, said he's thinking of running because the city "deserves a mayor with a vision who can manage, and who can lead to that vision." He said last year's highest-in-15-years murder count, and "stories [that] emerge monthly, sometimes weekly, that serve as distractions," have led him toward a challenge to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
He called 2008 "a galvanizing year," noting the election of Barack Obama to the presidency and the decline of the economy. "The mayor of Pittsburgh has sat on the sidelines and been disengaged," he said.
"I am a Democrat, so I would run in the May primary," he said.
Mr. Dowd, 40, and of Highland Park, would start at a disadvantage in terms of name recognition, time in city office and campaign funding.
"I have been in elected office as long as the mayor," he said of Mr. Ravenstahl, 28, of Summer Hill, who was elected to council in 2003, became its president in 2005, and was elevated from that office upon the Sept. 1, 2006, death of Mayor Bob O'Connor.
Mr. Ravenstahl then won an uncontested 2007 Democratic primary and a general election, with 63 percent of the vote, to serve out the remainder of Mr. O'Connor's term, which ends this year. Now, he's planning to run for a full term.
Mr. Dowd's campaign account contained $5,477 early this year. Mr. Ravenstahl's is believed to contain around $1 million.
"If I get in, I will get in because I believe I can win," Mr. Dowd said. "There are people who are more engaged than they've ever been, politically."
It could be a crowded race.
Council President Doug Shields, 55, of Squirrel Hill, said today that he is giving "very strong consideration," to a bid.
Carmen L. Robinson, 40, of the Hill District, also has kicked off a campaign. She is a lawyer and former city police sergeant.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First Published January 12, 2009 5:47 pm
