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Peduto Wins Pittsburgh Mayor Primary

Peduto portrait
Bill Peduto

With the election over and the results finally in, Bill Peduto has won the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Pittsburgh. He defeated Jack Wagner along with longshot candidates Jake Wheatley and A.J. Richardson.

With 97% precincts reporting, Peduto had 52.05% of the vote to Wagner’s 39.48%. Jake Wheatley and A.J. Richardson came in third and fourth with 7.63% and 0.62%, respectively.

The result represents the end of a hard-fought campaign, which began in earnest with incumbent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s decision to exit the race in early March.

After Ravenstahl’s withdrawal in March and City Controller Michael Lamb’s decision to drop out in early April, the race evolved into a two-way contest between Peduto and Wagner.

The third time’s a charm for Peduto, who had run for mayor twice previously, in 2005 and again in 2007.

First elected to City Council in 2001, Peduto lost his first mayoral bid in the primary to fellow Councilman and future Mayor Bob O’Connor.

Peduto again ran for a short time in the 2007 special election following O’Connor’s death, but dropped out before the primary took place.

This isn’t the first time around for Jack Wagner, either.

After having been elected to the City Council in 1983, he was re-elected in 1987 and 1989. He ascended to become Council President in 1989 and launched his first campaign for Mayor in 1993. In that race, he came in a distant second to Congressman state Representative Tom Murphy. This time, he was endorsed by the Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review. But it wasn’t enough.

Peduto will face Josh Wander, the sole Republican running for Mayor this year, in the November general election. Wander is a longshot, though, since Pittsburgh has not had a GOP mayor since the Great Depression.

11 Responses

  1. reasonable rep. you do valid points that i will give you.i have said all along wagner is a horrible campaigner look at ads for governors race and this pathetic run for mayor.i always said i do appreciate him serving in the arm forces.im sure he was a better marine than he was a politician.if he is looking for a job im sure his good friend tom corbett can find him one.hopefully this will put a end to the wagners living of the teet of the government.

  2. 1) Bram R — I don’t have the verbatim quote, but for example, on TV last night Doug Shields had nothing but rosy comments similar to those I already described in praising Wagner’s integrity, career, etc. Meanwhile, 2 weeks ago, he was on Facebook suggesting that a Mayor Wagner would be the oil and gas industry’s puppet. I repeat: give me a break. There are other less prominent examples from the past 16 hours from the typical Post-Gazette commenters and political tweeters.

    2) Lisa, I complained about the vicious political cheerleaders on the sidelines, not actual elected officials who were MUCH more civil (Luke excluded). That said, I hope that folks like Darlene Harris and Bill Peduto, whose differences seem mostly personal and not political, can check their egos at the door and work together a bit better. On the other hand, those cheerleaders on the sidelines merely are trying to save face after weeks of unbecoming character assassination.

    3) frank: At least you’re sticking to your guns, but I must disagree that Wagner “never helped anyone but himself.” For example, he was suffered a near-fatal wound while serving in the armed forces so that decades later you could freely exercise your right to act like an ASSCLOWN in the PAPolitics comments section.

  3. @Drew — Ad hominem attacks and guilt-by-association logic in denouncing negative campaigning; are you trying to be ironic or are you just that much of a twat?

  4. In 1993, Tom Murphy was a state representative in the 20th district, not a US Congressman.

  5. In 1993, Tom Murphy was a state representative in the 20th district, not a Congressman.

  6. I wont praise wagner never helped anyone but himself.hit the road jack.terrible campaign again

  7. @Reasonable Rep
    You said, “Hopefully the city’s elected leaders can put their personal differences aside and work together to attract more young families back to Greater Pittsburgh.” Then in the next paragraph you complain about how Peduto’s supporters praised Wagner after the election. Make up your mind.

  8. @ reasonable rep that’s what you get with these leftists, hypocrisy. Their attacks on Wagner were brutal and unjustified. There is a lot of Obama in the Peduto team. Look at the hatchet job done on Romney, a truly good man, as is Jack.

  9. Congratulations to Councilman Peduto on a hard fought victory. He finished strong these last weeks to prove me and others wrong. Hopefully the city’s elected leaders can put their personal differences aside and work together to attract more young families back to Greater Pittsburgh.

    On a side note, I do have to get on my soap-box and vent about my least favorite part of election season. As we have come to expect, shortly after Jack Wagner conceded this evening, I had read and hear numerous Peduto supporters commend Jack on his career in public service and praise his integrity and what not. Are you kidding me? Up until a few hours ago, for over a month many of these same people had been relentlessly TRASHING Jack as a relic of the past, “Wagnerstahl,” a puppet of special interests, you name it. Give me a break. It is pathetic to see people do these 180’s right after their guy wins, and you see it in elections at all levels.

    But I guess that’s politics…you take the good with the bad. As I said, while I don’t live in the city, congrats and best of luck to Mr. Peduto.

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    Total Voters: 30

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