Luke Ravenstahl

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**Luke Ravenstahl**<tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="2">Image:Luke portrait.jpg
</td></tr><tr><th style="border-bottom: none; text-align: center;" colspan="2">Term of office:</th></tr><tr><td style="border-top: none; text-align: center;" colspan="2">September 1, 2006 – Present</td></tr><tr><th>City</th><td>Pittsburgh</td></tr><tr><th>State</th><td>Pennsylvania</td></tr><tr><th>Political party</th><td>Democrat</td></tr><tr><th>Preceded by</th><td>Bob O'Connor</td></tr><tr><th>Succeeded by</th><td>Incumbent</td></tr>
Born	February 6, 1980 Troy Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania<tr><th>Spouse</th><td>Erin Lynn Feith</td></tr>

Luke Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980, in Troy Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the current Mayor of Pittsburgh.

At the age of 26, he is the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history. [1] He is also the youngest mayor of any major city in American history. [2]

1 Personal life
2 Political career
- 2.1 As mayor
3 External links

[edit] Personal life

Ravenstahl graduated from North Catholic High School in 1998 and Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) in December 2002. Prior to W&J, he attended Mercyhurst College for one year and then transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. He was a star baseball and football player in high school, played football at Mercyhurst, and was the kicker for the W&J football team under head coach John Banaszak, a three-time Super Bowl winner as a player with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following graduation from W&J, Ravenstahl worked as an account manager for a courier service. [3] [4]

He and his wife, Erin Lynn Feith, whom he married in July 2004 at age 24, live in the Northside district of Pittsburgh, in the Summer Hill neighborhood. Ravenstahl is Catholic and attends mass at Holy Wisdom Parish in Pittsburgh's Northside

[edit] Political career

Ravenstahl's family has a history of involvement with public service. His father is a district judge and his grandfather was a city firefighter.

At age 23, just four months after graduating from college, Ravenstahl ran for the District 1 seat on Pittsburgh's City Council in the April 2003 primary and defeated incumbent Barbara Burns. He ran unopposed in the November 2003 general election. [5] He assumed his seat on council in January 2004. In December 2005, he was elected City Council President, a role he held until he became mayor.

[edit] As mayor

Ravenstahl, per provisions in the city's charter, ascended from the office of City Council President to Mayor on September 1, 2006 following the death of mayor Bob O'Connor.

However, due to ambiguous language in the charter a controversy developed about how long Ravenstahl would temporarily serve as mayor before an election had to be held. Ravensthal stated his desire to fulfill the remainder of O'Connor's term. [6] [7] [8] The charter includes references to holding a new election when someone ascends to mayor through a vacancy, and makes no mention of serving out the full term. Therefore, it was unclear when the election could or should be held due to a confusing phrase that says the "vacancy in the mayor's office shall be filled at the next election permitted by law", yet not elaborating on what "permitted by law" means. [9] Ravenstahl instructed the city's legal department to quickly obtain a decision as to when the election should be held. [10] On October 12, 2006, the Allegheny County Board of Elections decided unanimously that mayoral candidates will compete in the May 15, 2007, primary election followed by the November 6, 2007, general election. The winner of the general election will take office after the election results are certified, and the term will end in January 2010. [11]

In his first official act as mayor, Ravenstahl ordered the city flag at all city locations to be flown at half staff and declared the city in a state of mourning. Ravenstahl and deputy mayor Yarone Zober had been coordinating city government since the July 2006 diagnosis of O'Connor in which the former mayor was limited to the confines of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Shadyside while he attempted recovery.

Ravenstahl made several public appearances as the new, young mayor. Ravenstahl has drawn attention to Pittsburgh and presents a younger face while he continues a 'Redd Up Campaign.'

Media coverage of Ravenstahl has included a feature story in the New York Times, and an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman on September 14, 2006. Ravenstahl was concerned about how appropriate the coverage would appear in the wake of O'Connor's death, but O'Connor's widow encouraged him to participate in the media coverage and continue O'Connor's work as a "cheerleader" for Pittsburgh. [12]