About Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

Luke Ravenstahl began his tenure as the 59th Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh by calling on each and every resident to “join him in providing Pittsburgh with the fresh leadership required to bring about our next Renaissance.”

Since assuming office on September 1, 2006, Mayor Ravenstahl has built a record of achievement for the City at a time when it is most needed. He has embraced his new role as Mayor with the same energy, commitment and relentless optimism that he brought to his service on the Pittsburgh City Council – first as a councilman from 2003 to 2006, and then as President of City Council in 2006. As the son of a family committed to public service – his father is a District Judge and his grandfather is a former Pennsylvania State Representative – Mayor Ravenstahl understands that leadership requires action, not just words.

A Balanced Budget

Announcing to all that Pittsburgh’s financial recovery is “a must, not just a wish,” Mayor Ravenstahl created the city’s first structurally balanced budget in years. His 2007 Combined Fiscal Budget not only stresses efficiency, effectiveness and accountability – it also establishes a City savings fund of nearly $60 million. Even Wall Street recognized the Mayor’s financial leadership and upgraded the city’s bond rating.

Safer Streets

Mayor Ravenstahl honored his pledge to make Pittsburgh’s streets among the safest and cleanest in the nation by putting more police on the streets and giving them improved technology to do their jobs. He also launched a Drug Free School Zone program and unveiled innovative efforts to close “crack houses” and revitalize blighted properties. His crime-busting enthusiasm has resulted in a truly impressive public safety record.

Revitalized Neighborhoods

How do you revitalize a city of 88 neighborhoods? Mayor Ravenstahl is doing it one neighborhood at a time. He has led an effort to reenergize our neighborhoods through enhanced Community Development Block Grant investment, growing the City’s “Redd-Up” effort and launching an innovative, taxpayer-responsive 3-1-1 hotline. Mayor Ravenstahl can often be found walking the streets of our City’s neighborhoods, asking residents what is on their minds and searching for ideas to improve the City.

Economic Growth

Mayor Ravenstahl is leading a revolution to make Pittsburgh more job-friendly and conducive to investment and economic development. He’s spearheading an effort to slash the mountains of bureaucratic red tape that too often stifle investment and economic growth. And he’s reorganizing the city’s economic development functions to streamline job programs and make them more responsive to our citizens.

The results are visible all over Pittsburgh. Whether it’s new commercial and residential buildings cropping up in the Golden Triangle, revitalization on the North Shore, new laboratory incubators on Second Avenue, an ever-growing and dynamic East Liberty corridor, or any one of the thousands of formerly blighted properties that were recently brought out of delinquent taxpayers’ hands, Mayor Ravenstahl’s efforts can be seen wherever there is progress.

Personal History in the City

Mayor Ravenstahl and his wife, Erin, reside in the Summer Hill section of the North Side, where he grew up. They attend Holy Wisdom Parish, also part of the Summer Hill neighborhood.

The Mayor is a graduate of North Catholic High School and Washington and Jefferson College, where he earned his Bachelor of the Arts degree in Business Administration.